Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 7:45 am | By: Chris Goldstein
Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank talk Marijuana
Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul
Recently I again had the chance to speak with two individuals who have been on the forefront of cannabis reform for some time. These gentlemen have voiced support for medical marijuana, decriminalization and industrial hemp farming from the House of Representatives in the United States Congress.
Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) co-sponsored legislation in 2008 that would protect medical marijuana patients, remove federal penalties for small amounts of cannabis and allow for realistic hemp farming. These are quite literally, two of the hardest working Congressmen…ever. They are senior members of some of the most important committees such as House Foreign Relations and, in the case of Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Finance Committee.
They took some time this week to have serious discussions about marijuana reform for my public radio program, Active Voice Radio.
I asked them both about their federal legislation HR 5842 and HR5843, Attorney General Eric Holder’s statements on medical marijuana raids, President Obama’s online town-hall comments and Hemp farming.
Ron Paul noted that he does not see marijuana legalization as a tax issue, since he is anti-tax anyway, but sees the topic as a state’s rights and personal privacy issue. Congressman Paul also noted his own rather conservative district voters in Texas have never penalized him for his pro-reform positions. He spoke about the Industrial Hemp Farming Act as well, mentioning that he owns a few hemp t-shirts already.
Barney Frank congratulated the people in his home state of Massachusetts for decriminalizing marijuana possession in a ballot referendum this fall. Congressman Frank also discussed the economic crisis and offered a welcome bit of levity. This is one elected official with the street cred to joke. He also brought up the aspect of civil liberties and marijuana prohibition, illustrating the point with a recent, disturbing incident in New York City.
Here are some MP3 sample clips
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Congressman Barney Frank Clip 1
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Congressman Barney Frank Clip 2
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Congressman Ron Paul Clip 1
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Congressman Ron Paul Clip 2
These conversations were definitely a highlight of my week. The full interviews with Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank are online at the Public Radio Exchange:
New Jersey has reached a critical stage for the medical marijuana bill. Having passed the Senate, The New Jersey Compassionate Use Marijuana Act is halfway through the legislative process. A804 is solid legislation that would immediately relieve the suffering of patients with medicine and protection. But only through continued support from NJ voters and active contact from those who are enduring debilitating medical conditions will the bill pass. www.cmmnj.org
In Pennsylvania, Rep. Mark B Cohen continues to enthusiastically work on the first draft of the medical marijuana bill for the Keystone State. Proving again that life is always stranger than fiction, the first opportunity that the medical access bill could be introduced is when the PA legislature reconvenes: Monday, April 20th. You can’t make this stuff up. www.phillynorml.org
Marijuana reform is definitely a ‘mainstream’ issue now, so there has been no better time to send emails, call legislators, donate dollars and spend some time each day to help end cannabis prohibition. Important social justice issues only move ahead with consistent, positive actions and support.
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Today is Government at Work day… and most of them are in recess. So I’m bringing back the interview with Rep. Barney Frank on his HR5843 bill to end federal penalties for personal marijuana possession.
Then I’ve got the executive producer of a new film chronicling the work of hemp activists, Rod Pitman. It’s called “Hempsters Plant the Seed” and a screening will be held this Thursday at 7pm and 10pm at Portland’s Bagdad Theater (yes, it is spelled that way).
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am | By: Radical Russ
Allen St. Pierre’s post in the influentual Capitol Hill blog, The Hill (reported earlier here) has been a smashing success on that website. To date, it has generated 98 comments, almost all positive, which the editor tells us is a record response for a post in that blog.
It has brought the drug warriors out, too. Reluctantly, I suppose, since they are generally told not to engage in drug war debates (because it’s hard to win an argument against facts, logic, and reason with only scaremongering and lies). Here it is, with the comment I have posted in response interspersed within the text:
The Hill Blog» Blog Archive » Congress Must Reject Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) recently introduced H.R. 5843, “The Act to Remove Most Federal Penalties for Possession of Marijuana For Personal Use” in Congress. Should this bill come to the floor for a vote, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) urges Congress to vote no. Legislation such as this is not the solution to reducing drug abuse or its concomitant crime and ignores the fact that responsible drug policy should be driven by research based prevention, treatment, and recovery. Not only would H.R. 5843 remove all criminal penalties for anyone, regardless of age, who possesses up to 100 grams of marijuana, but it also removes any criminal penalties associated with the “not-for-profit transfer” of up to one ounce of marijuana and only allows a civil penalty of no more than $100 to be imposed for the public use of marijuana. This legislation severely undermines the prevention efforts of the many community anti-drug coalitions throughout the country and their message that marijuana is not a benign drug.
Yes, decriminalization would severely undermine the efforts to paint marijuana as a dangerous drug… by removing the prohibition-related dangers from marijuana.
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Today we get to visit with Darrel Rogers from Schools Not Prisons PAC, an organization dedicated to electorally slaying the biggest Drug War dragon in the House, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN).
Then comedian Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing) visits with a preview of his show this Thursday in Washington DC with reggae artistrs Lionize.
Plus a couple of snippets from Paul Armentano’s interview on the Dr. Drew Pinsky radio show and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on FOX News in support of HR5843.
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 1:18 pm | By: Radical Russ
FOXNews.com – Lawmakers Propose to Legalize Marijuana – America’s Election HQ
CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL (R-TX), SUPPORTER OF THE PROPOSAL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA: Well, my aim is always to promote freedom and the constitution, and an issue like this is just – has no value to have the federal police going out and trying to find people who might be smoking. Before 1938, the Federal Government wasn’t even involved so I would think that the states can handle things like this.
And the whole notion that we regulate and prosecute people for things that some other people think is a vice – I just don’t see any purpose on this. I thought we learned our lesson about what prohibition did in the early part of the last century. There’s no value to it. It wastes a lot of money and causes a lot of trouble. And what do we do? We end up with laws like this that prohibit sick people from using marijuana where they can get benefit. We literally – the Federal Government overrides state laws and arrests people who are sick and getting some benefit from marijuana and they’re dying with cancer or AIDS. It makes no sense at all.
The Missouri Democrat was flying with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on a congressional trip to Africa earlier this year when Frank asked Clay to co-sponsor his “marijuana bill.”
It seemed like a simple request to Clay, who for years has signed on to bills to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. So his answer was “No problem.” He called his staff and told them to put his name on the bill.
Only later did he find out that the bill went far beyond medical marijuana. Frank’s bill would end all prosecution of the personal use of marijuana, and Clay was one of only seven sponsors.
Clay was worried about the reaction. Supporting the liberalization of marijuana laws is not often seen as a political winner, especially in Midwestern cities like St. Louis.
But instead of stoner jokes, derision and righteous indignation, Clay was surprised to start getting praise from complete strangers.
“People are coming up to me saying this is a common-sense, sensible way to deal with the issue of personal use,” Clay said.
So far, he said, his calls, mail and contacts are running 80-20 in favor of the bill. He was impressed enough that he decided to go ahead and step before the cameras last week with Frank and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) at a news conference touting the bill.
This is exactly what Rep. Frank was talking about in our Friday interview: the people are way ahead of the politicians on this one. Please call your congressperson at 202-224-3121 and ask him or her to co-sponsor (or at least support) Barney Frank’s HR5843. The calls really do matter – many of these legislators are smart enough to know that marijuana prohibition has failed, but like Rep. Clay, are afraid of what the backlash may be back home.
Some of you may have a Republican or Conservative Democrat as a representative who will turn off immediately to anything involving marijuana. Call anyway. When I was living back in Idaho, represented by Republicans at the city, county, state, and federal level, I used to try to find an angle that would slip past their prejudice, something like:
I just wanted to call you about this bill by Barney Frank to legalize marijuana. Y’know, I think that dope is stupid and people that do dope are stupid, but, heck, if we outlaw stupidity, we’d have to lock up most everybody at some point. Maybe we oughtta try this thing so that we’re not spending a bunch of my tax dollars busting baggy-pants skateboarders for a joint when we could spend that time and money busting those meth freaks rippin’ metal off the bridges!
You know I don’t think “dope” is stupid and that I have nothing but compassion for meth addicts, right? But they don’t have to know that. If I act as if I’m coming from their point-of-view, maybe I can open them up a little bit to at least talk about it and force them to defend the status quo.
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Steve Bloom brings us the CelebStoner.com report on the Cheech & Chong Reunion Tour, Snoop Dogg’s bus bust, and the Princeton Review’s list of the top stoniest colleges.
Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 8:22 pm | By: Radical Russ
CNN has a feture called “iReport” where you can send in your comments and video replies to their stories. The Barney Frank press conference is the subject, and I am thrilled to note that almost all of the comments were positive for our side, or as CNN puts it, “The overwhelming majority of iReporters who responded favor legalization”. As of 8:15pm PT they had 221 iReports submitted. Here is CNN’s select sampling of 15:
Marijuana bill sparks debate among iReporters – CNN.com qotsa7777: I absolutely agree with the legalization of recreational marijuana use as a means to end the damaging and unproductive war on responsible, non violent users, but if we deny individuals the right to cultivate and sell marijuana for profit (with regulation similar that of alcohol), than we continue to perpetuate the most damaging aspect of marijuana prohibition: the funneling of money to gangs.
TJ1: I have been in hiding too long on this subject. I have a medical disorder that marijuana helps…. why should I have to hide responsible use of this what I consider to be very helpful to me?
Aoman: These issues should be left up to the states to decide. Let the DEA worry about drugs that are actually harmful to society.
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 11:30 am | By: Radical Russ
Legislators aim to snuff out penalties for pot use – CNN.com
“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,” Frank said during a Capitol Hill news conference. “I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 11:14 am | By: Radical Russ
The Raw Story | Bush drug warrior crashes pot press conference
On Wednesday, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) held a press conference to tout his pot-decriminalization bill, that even defenders admit has an almost non-existent chance of becoming law in the near future.
Frank, however, found himself alongside The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s “chief scientist” and two aides who were dispatched to provide instant rebuttal. Given the bill’s chances of passage, Bush Administration surrogate Dr. David Murray’s impassioned arguments that seemed more appropriate in Reefer Madness were greeted with plenty of puzzled glances.
Why did the White House feel it necessary to send at least three staffers to Capitol Hill to place in every reporter’s hand a copy of its 20-page, color-copied “2008 Marijuana Sourcebook?” RAW STORY posed this question to Murray.
“It is our responsibility to be aware of policy developments,” he said, explaining that Frank’s attempt to modify the controlled substances act was very much of interest to the Bush administration’s pot prohibitionists.
How pathetic are the government’s pot prohibitionists? First of all, the chances that this bill will pass are slim-to-none right now. Second, even if the bill moves forward, it won’t be heard until the next Congress, and this Dr. David Murray, appointed by George W. Bush, won’t even be around anymore. Third, these minions of the Drug Czar are required by LAW to lie to the public about marijuana – even if Jesus himself appeared at that press conference to say that cannabis is the sacred healing herb given by God to Man and no man has the authority to deny it to another, the ONDCP would be required by LAW to say, “no, it isn’t”.
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
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. […]
Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank talk Marijuana
Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank talk Marijuana
New Jersey has reached a critical stage for the medical marijuana bill. Having passed the Senate, The New Jersey Compassionate Use Marijuana Act is halfway through the legislative process. A804 is solid legislation that would immediately relieve the suffering of patients with medicine and protection. But only through continued support from NJ voters and active contact from those who are enduring debilitating medical conditions will the bill pass. www.cmmnj.org
In Pennsylvania, Rep. Mark B Cohen continues to enthusiastically work on the first draft of the medical marijuana bill for the Keystone State. Proving again that life is always stranger than fiction, the first opportunity that the medical access bill could be introduced is when the PA legislature reconvenes: Monday, April 20th. You can’t make this stuff up. www.phillynorml.org
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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