My mom sometimes reads this blog to keep up with what I’m doing, so just in case… Happy Mother’s Day, mom! (yes, I’ll call her, too)
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MRRRPPHHHH! How did I forget Mother’s day? Thanks, Pete, You just saved my ass.
The NY Times has a rehash of all the blogging that’s been going on of all the US Attorney letters that have been flying around:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/us/08marijuana.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Here’s what made me choke on my coffee:
“Some people on each side say the issue could quickly be solved if the federal government reclassified marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug, a category that includes heroin and cocaine, to a Schedule 2 drug, which includes medicines that can be prescribed.”
Um, last I checked, cocaine was still in Schedule II:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/cocaine.html
My suspicion is that the reporter’s mistake stems from the reasonable notion that the hierarchy of verboten substances should bear some relation to the relative perils of said substances…
But in the NY Times? Come on, Gray Lady! It’s not just the mistake, it’s the missed opportunity to point out how counterintuitive it all is. So I’ve written and informed Mr. Yardley that the chance is not totally gone.
Gosh, how many times have I read a Know Nothing’s ignorantly asking if we should allow “medical” meth? “Well that’s neither here nor there Mr. Know Nothing prohibitionist, a better question is ‘shouldn’t you have a clue before you open your mouth?'”
http://www.rxlist.com/desoxyn-drug.htm
BTW Matthew, from your link:
I suppose they deserve a brownie point for not making their mistake just disappear.
more insane sentencing:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/05/fourth_marijuana_conviction_ge.html#incart_hbx
They get points only for consistency; bad consistency, but consistency none the less.
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Some old white dude named Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
@Duncan…. Thank you.. Self Reliance – “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
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Well, for as loony as the Know Nothings are in the US, they’re even more whacked out in Ghana. Good lord, take a look at the picture of the pothead in the article linked below. The picture is in sync with the text.
Of my word, the comments section matches both!
Dear Pete’s Mom;
You raised a wonderful son, thank you for teaching him and loving him, you did good. Happy Mothers Day, I hope you had a great one.
Duncan, what a bizarre world this is: I do believe I’ve seen the exact same photo as a user’s avatar on a cannabis cultivation site. Context is powerful; still, it’s hard to believe that people in Ghana or anywhere else would take this photo as evidence of anything other than playfulness.
Named Cannabis sativa in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus.
“Dioeciousâ€: sexually distinct male and female plants.
There is physical evidence that hemp is not like any other plant on this planet. One could conclude that it was brought here for the benefit of humanity.
I think with 7 billion people, getting knocked up should be a lower priority.
255 cities came together to march for the most unique plant on the planet.
Everybody loves their mothers, even Hitler, John Walters and Boosh.
What about those moms bringing the world such scum?
At least equal billing.
“Show the world that pot heads are organized!”
Mernagh shouted into a megaphone.
PEACEFUL ‘POT HEADS’ MARCH FOR MARIJUANA
Parading for Pot: Protesters Hold Rally Supporting Legalization
A Mother’s Day Message
On Mother’s Day we celebrate and honor those who gave us life. However, as a mother, every day I am reminded of a terrible war that is destroying the fabric of our families and putting our children at risk. It is the so-called War on Drugs. It happens all around us and is primarily a war on cannabis consumers. Today I hope that mothers will join me in advocating for a cease fire in the war on cannabis consumers. continued…
DRUG WAR POW: Dana Beal by Ed Rosenthal
An interview with (Irvin) Dana Beal by Legalizace Magazine,
Czech Republic by Michal Rehak.
You’ve been fighting for legalization for many years. Since you have started, do you think the situation about marihuana has changed? Is it better, same or worse now than it was then?
When we started, there was a broad consensus across the political spectrum that people like me and Marc Emery were nothing but criminals. Now, most societies are almost evenly split between those who view marijuana as criminal and those who see prohibition as Fascist oppression.
This book has two messages.
First, religion reduces crime.
Second, look what happens to scholars who say this is true.
IN THE PEW INSTEAD OF PRISON
How much confidence, then, should we have in nonexperimental studies? Not a lot, as none of the studies that Mr. Johnson cites show the statistical controls necessary to evaluate them.
The largest effort to do this is managed by the Prison Fellowship, an organization created by Charles Colson in the 1970s when he was in jail after having pleaded guilty to charges involving his role in the Nixon administration’s effort to discredit Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers leaker.
Bush. Religious drug treatment in Texas
And at a Christian young adult home in Corpus Christi, police recently took the unusual step of arresting a supervisor after teenagers complained that they were beaten and roped to a bed, all in the name of Christian discipline. More arrests are anticipated, authorities say.
These are some of the results–expected and unexpected–of Gov. George W. Bush’s “bold new experiment in welfare reform.” With his conviction that religious groups can transform lives in ways government can’t, Bush sponsored laws in 1997 that allow churches to provide social services their own way, outside the intrusive glare of the state.
The new laws exempted faith-based drug treatment programs from all state health and safety regulations followed by their secular counterparts, a list contained in a rule book as thick as a Russian novel that covers every detail from fire detectors to frayed carpets. Counselors in religious treatment programs now may skip the criminal background checks and hundreds of hours of training required of their state-licensed peers.
Driving High Bill Dies in Senate By John Ingold
CN Source: Denver Post May 09, 2011 Denver
A proposal at the state Capitol to set a limit for how stoned is too stoned to drive died this evening in the Senate. In a crucial vote, lawmakers rejected a hard cap on the amount of THC — the psychoactive chemical in marijuana — drivers could have in their systems above which they would be presumed too high to drive. Instead, a divided Senate sided with medical-marijuana advocates, who urged more study of the proposal. full story
New Federal Crackdown Confounds States By William Yardley
CN Source: New York Times May 07, 2011 Seattle
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but that has not stopped a fuzzy industry of marijuana farms and dispensaries from rising to serve the 15 states that allow the drug to be used for medical purposes. Under President Obama, the federal government had seemed to make a point of paying little attention — until now. As some states seek to increase regulation but also further protect and institutionalize medical marijuana, federal prosecutors are suddenly asserting themselves, authorizing raids and sending strongly worded letters that have cast new uncertainty on an issue that has long brimmed with tension between federal and state law. full story
Louisiana Man Gets Life for Marijuana By Maria Vultaggio
It was not the first time Cornell Hood II had gotten in trouble with the law.
He had previously just gotten off probation after three marijuana convictions in New Orleans.
However, he met a much harsher punishment after moving to St. Tammany Parish. A single conviction on the North shore sentenced the 35-year-old man to life in prison, according to the Times-Picayune.
U2b Report
Obombo’s Sublingual Attack on Ganja
Feds on New Medical Marijuana Offensive
Despite Obama’s promise not to interfere with State laws,
DEA raids continue to arrest medicinal marijuana users and suppliers
Montana Marijuana Wars Are Just Beginning, Advocates Vow
Despite Federal raids and recent threats, medical marijuana activists are prepared to continue fighting for their freedoms.
What’s Up With Obama’s Cynical Approach to Medical Marijuana?
The previous ten presidents were staunch prohibitionists. Meanwhile, Obama has taken the federal hand off the scale quite a bit.
Obama’s Sudden, Senseless Assault on Medical Marijuana
Despite the rhetoric, the Obama Administration continues to fight against States’ right to medicinal cannabis.
States Reassess Marijuana Laws After Fed Warnings
Several states have started reassessing their medical marijuana laws after stern warnings from the federal government that everyone from licensed growers to regulators could be subjected to prosecution.
Medical-Pot Dispensaries Fear Raids
In partially vetoing a landmark medical marijuana bill last week, Gov. Chris Gregoire gutted the legal theory under which at least 100 storefront dispensaries opened in the past year and a half, leaving the dispensaries at much greater risk of prosecution or civil action when the new law takes effect in July.
Is The DEA Legalizing THC?
* Con Flicts of Interest Bush Barthwell & Bayer
So, in other words, if a pharmaceutical product contains THC extracted from the marijuana plant, that would be a legal commodity. But if you or I possessed THC extracted from the marijuana plant, that would remain an illegal commodity.
ObamaCare’s Medical Marijuana
America’s Shameful Prohibition: Life Sentences For Marijuana
Maryland Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Defense and Study Bill
Obama Tilts Toward Iran Contra Gates – 11/21/08
First Obama DEAth raid in California – 03/27/09
* Net to Obama – 03/27/09
The Obama Admin’s Anti Marijuana Manifesto – 02/01/11
* Multiple DEA Raids Target Marijuana in Hawaii – 03/15/10
* “An Entirely Legitimate Topic for Debate” – 01/28/11
* Hil and Gil on the Drug War – 02/01/11
* Cures Not Wars Shock the Junkie – 5.10.11
Open Thread
Plaque Outside Old Bailey, London
“Near this site William Penn and William Mead were tried in 1670 for preaching to an
unlawful assembly in Gracechurch Street. This tablet commemorates the courage and endurance of the jury, Thomas Vere, Edward Bushell and ten others, who refused to give a verdict against them although they were locked up without food for two nights and were fined for their final verdict of Not Guilty. The case of these jury men was reviewed on a writ of Habeas Corpus and Chief Justice Vaughan delivered the opinion of the court which established the Rights of Juries to give their Verdict according to their conviction. ”
Jury Nullification
Hippie’s global charity for blind marks 25 years – 01/10/04 01:33:55
Peace Officers Memorial Day Expected to Draw Tens of Thousands to Washington, DC
In conjunction with Peace Officers Memorial Day, some police are pointing out how too many law enforcers are killed in the line of duty enforcing a senseless and unwinnable “war on drugs.” The group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), is calling for the legalization and regulation off all drugs, and they’re telling stories about their fallen friends and colleagues to back up their case.
Buzzing Over the Death of the Stoned Driving Bill
Critics of the bill argued that frequent marijuana users could have more than five nanograms of THC in their blood even if they weren’t under the influence of marijuana when they were pulled over. They pointed out that there is no nanogram limit for oxycontin or other drugs that may impair drivers and that medical marijuana patients are “once again treated like second-class citizens for their choice of medicine.”
Drug Tests Will Fix Wasted Welfare Cash
Hopefully, this will make people reconsider doing drugs and force them to realize the consequences of their actions.
The solution is simple. Eat the rich
Indonesia: Supporting Marijuana ‘Not Good’
Social Services Minister Salim Segaf al Jufri says legalizing marijuana may have negative effects on the nation’s youth.
US PRAISES THAI DRUG WAR! – 02/22/11
Unruly Meeting Hurts The Sick
I’m Now A Cannabis Client, And It Was Easy As P-O-T
Cannabis Forgetting and the Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan U2b
Pollan discusses some of the cultural effects that marijuana has had and then moves on to what we have learned about the brain through studying cannabis. Particularly, he discusses endogenous cannabinoids and the role they play in forgetting, noting that the ability to forget is a mental operation that is almost as important as the ability to remember.
Study: Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories
Pot Blocks Painful Memories, Study Says
Pot-Like Chemical Helps Beat Fear