Open Thread

I’m off to New York City. Taking 55 people for a week of shows and walking tours on an annual theatre trip. We’ll be seeing “War Horse,” “Book of Mormon,” “Jerusalem,” “Born Yesterday,” “House of Blue Leaves,” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Over the next 7-8 days, posting may be light, but I’ll try to stop in as often as I can.

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28 Responses to Open Thread

  1. Cannabis says:

    I hope that you have a good time and a safe trip.

  2. Cartman's Authoritay says:

    Book Of Mormon! Would love to see that enjoy!

  3. Jim says:

    Pete’s readers might — or might not — be interested in my TEDxUChicago talk, “Re-Legalizing Drugs,” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Px4nYbJoQ ; it is not as interesting a dramatic performance as “The Book of Mormon,” but the pain lasts “only” 17 minutes.

    • Duncan20903 says:

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      Back in the early 1980s one of my attorneys gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon. Man that tome was as dry as the Sahara. For such a bunch of whacked out religionists they have got to have the most boring version of The Big Fairy Tale in existence. How the heck can you make the Good Fairy Jesus landing for a second run in the Americas and make it a story that could cause people’s brains to switch off from being so bored?

      Well that’s why I fired him, I don’t put up with people who attempt to bore me to death.

  4. Duncan20903 says:

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    I really feel like I’d like to be a subscriber to the Seattle Times. Being on the East Coast it seems a bit silly for me to do so. Is there a list of Know Nothing prohibitionists in Seattle so I could pick one at random and give a gift subscription? “Goddammit honey, every blessed morning that pothead loving rag gets left in our driveway, and they just won’t stop!”

    Darned if it doesn’t feel positively surreal to have a mainstream publication on our side. I’m not sure if people really get just how significant this is. Holy cow, they’ve even taken to calling it cannabis!

    Medical cannabis among the ruins

    Medical marijuana was the legislative disaster the session. It is not clear what will happen next.

    MEDICAL marijuana has been the legislative disaster of 2011. The way out is not yet clear. Prosecutors should tread cautiously, mindful not only of the letter of the law but of the public will.

    In 1998 the voters of Washington voted 59 percent in favor of Initiative 692, to allow patients with AIDS, cancer and like diseases to use cannabis to ameliorate pain and nausea. The measure was vague; it was not clear how patients were supposed to get marijuana, because it was forbidden under federal law.
    /snip/

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2015168264_edit31cannabis.html

    • Windy says:

      The Seattle Times just recently (only this year, in fact) came into the fold of reforming the war on cannabis. As you already know, the Times is online so you don’t have to subscribe to read it. As for a prohibitionist for whom you could purchase a gift subscription, how about dear old drug czar Gil? He was the Chief of Police in Seattle before he became czar, but sending him just the op-eds and articles promoting reform might have more effect.

      I find it interesting that Gil went from Seattle’s police chief to drug czar while Norm Stamper, whose job (as police chief in Seattle) Gil took over when Norm left, went to LEAP.

  5. Duncan20903 says:

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    Bird-watcher wrongly arrested for possession of pot had sage in backpack

    “…the sage that Robin Brown carried on a bird-watching outing in Weston landed her in jail on felony charges of marijuana possession.

    Now she is suing over the wrongful arrest.

    “I’m not out for revenge,” said Brown, 49, a soft-spoken woman from Montana who moved to Hollywood in 2007. “I’m trying to bring information to light so that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

    Sheriff’s Deputy Dominic Raimondi, 51, mistook Brown’s sage for marijuana, then searched her car and found more. His field kit said the sage — purchased at an airport gift shop in Albuquerque, N.M. — tested positive for marijuana.

    He did not arrest her that day in March 2009, but sent the 50 grams of “contraband” to the crime lab for a more definitive test.

    Assistant State Attorney Mark Horn ordered Brown’s arrest without having the sage tested, court records show.
    /snip/

    Brown says she has learned her lesson. She leaves the sage at home these days.
    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/bird-watcher-wrongly-arrested-for-possession-of-pot-1507669.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

  6. Duncan20903 says:

    Malcolm please notice this.

    Well it seems I’m a master of understatement, specifically in my screed about the 12/10/2010 SAMHSA driving report which shows California’s very impressive, statistically significant reduction in the incidence of “drugged” driving. I went with “the number of Californians claiming the protection of the CUA and SB-420 “more than tripled” because I thought that statement safe. Well, it looks like “increased by more than tenfold” is the more accurate Statement based on today’s numbers from CaNORML.

    http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/may/31/million_medical_marijuana_patien

  7. vickyvampire says:

    Have a safe and good trip Pete.
    Yeah Duncan I think Seattle papers different animal from papers here overall,yeah at least some one thought of public will in Medical-Marijuana Law there here they don’t even talk about it unless its about the horrible dangers of it.
    Our newspapers here in Utah are obsessed it seems with editorials and stories concerning opiate addiction and or disposing of your unused pain killers,I swear there has been at least for or six stories on or more, then its constant stories about spice and yes they outlawed spice a couple of months ago but smokes shops are still getting busted for it on occasion its hilarious.
    Heard a local radio show last week the local host was bewildered,flummoxed,confused has to why in a conservative MORMON state there was proliferation of Smoke shops popping up on every corner lately selling tobacco hookahs and paraphernalia well I’m not so sure my self maybe cause of attack on smokers and many regulars stores that are Mormon or conservative owned do not sell tobacco products these specialty stores serve a niche market, also forbidden fruit adds to enticement sometimes growing popularity of cigars these smoke shops sell cigars,rolling papers Etc.

    Also was shocked to see two doctors in news paper a few weeks ago say they would rather recommend Marijuana in the long term for Chronic pain and that it was safer, than using opiates long term, and that more doctors needed to get educated on the matter WOW my GOODNESS will these doctors get probably end up in some dungeon locked away and never heard of again. I ‘ll link story at other time to tired today and in to much pain. Have story somewhere. Yeah this is only positive story is regular mainstream paper I have seen in Utah now alternative papers that’s another story.

    Yeah Duncan can’t folks commune with nature and take a walk and burn your sage why are these busy bodies law lurking everywhere can’t they go do something productive like eat doughnuts and drink coffee or something.

  8. Duncan20903 says:

    If the doctors are in the 9th Circuit Conant v Walters (2003) protects their 1st Amendment right to free speech.

  9. Duncan20903 says:

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    Here’s a cartoon featuring a pothead in the futile mission of trying to reason with a Know Nothing prohibitionist:

    http://tinyurl.com/why-yes-it-is-empty

    Who’da thunk it was actually true?

  10. Duncan20903 says:

    August 13, 1982
    .

    The Surgeon General’s Warning on Marijuana

    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001143.htm

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    • strayan says:

      more high school seniors use marijuana than smoke cigarettes.

      And yet it never occurred to anyone that this was a policy failing.

  11. no one rules if no one obeys says:

    Epic FAIL describes the whole worthless ass system from prohibition to wars for resources to the paranoid police state here im das homeland.

  12. Duncan20903 says:

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    ‘Emerald City’ proposed in Humboldt County

    By GLENDA ANDERSON
    THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

    Published: Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 8:01 p.m.

    In the heart of southern Humboldt County’s prime marijuana growing region, an effort is under way to create a new city.

    It’s been dubbed “Emerald City,” a name as whimsical as the effort, critics say.

    Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz, featured in books and in the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” And in pot country, emerald can be a reference both to the green of the marijuana plant and the color of money.
    /snip/

    http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110529/ARTICLES/110529418/1033/news?Title=-Emerald-City-proposed-in-Humboldt-County

  13. Servetus says:

    NFL star and former Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn was harassed by cops looking for drugs in a profiling traffic stop outside Atlanta. The police claimed the tint on his car windows was too dark:

    http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-falcons/warrick-dunn-stopped-for-962848.html?cxtype=rss_news

    • tintguy says:

      Happens all the time but guess which group of professionals have the most people requesting dark film?

  14. vickyvampire says:

    here is link to article I posted yesterday about 2 doctors I referred to saying marijuana better than painkillers of course further down in article they had to show some negatives with Cannabis I guess that’s a given always expected, anyways few more Docs on our side of argument.

    ://www.standard.net/topics/drugs/2011/05/13/doctor-says-marijuana-better-painkillers

  15. they hate us for our freedoms says:

    Most states have a limit on the darkness of the tint. Check with your auto detailer before adding it to your windows. The mirrored tint is illegal almost everywhere.

  16. Windy says:

    This totally off topic but I just need to rant and it IS an open thread.

    First I need to explain that as a libertarian I oppose entitlement programs provided by government. That said, many people are now dependent on those programs. It pisses me off that government claims to be in the hole, financially, and are cutting services and programs that are helping those who are dependent on government but it seems government has plenty of money to continue the militarization and tyrannical tactics of law enforcement, and the war machine.

    I bring this up because I just took my dog out to pee and that damn ICE helicopter is flying again, in fact it flies damn near 24/7 over my county. It’s NOT cheap to fly that beast, something near a $1000 per hour. It might make some sort of sense if it was flying along the border (Canadian) but we are 30 miles south of that border and it seems to spend most of its time just hovering over my neighborhood (a rather large area that includes the local mall and the airport, so I’m not being paranoid or thinking they are surveilling me). The constant sound is annoying and detracts from our enjoyment of being outdoors in our own yard. And listening to our tax money burning up in that engine makes me angry.

  17. Duncan20903 says:

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    Florida has a new law as of yesterday requiring drugs testing of welfare recipients. I haven’t been able to ascertain if drinking alcohol is included but that’s not likely to be treated as the drug that it is, now is it?

    Oh, let’s not forget they’ve included an application fee to be considered. I’d think a nice stiff application fee would shrink the welfare rolls all by itself.

    The new law, a version of which was struck down by a federal court in Michigan in 2003, requires recipients to pay for the tests before qualifying for benefits and periodically after they receive them.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/us-florida-welfare-drugs-idUSTRE74U6W320110531

  18. Duncan20903 says:

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    Vermont has authorized up to 4 dispensaries to meet the medicinal needs of patients claiming the protection of Vermont’s medicinal cannabis patient protection law.

    “Vermont to Federal Drug Warriors: Mind Your Own Business”

    http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/02/vermont-to-federal-drug-warrio

    …………………………………………………….
    Many people think that Connecticut is going to become the 18th State to pass a medicinal cannabis patient protection law now that they’ve deleted the patient’s ability to cultivate his medicine.

    What in the fuck is wrong with the people who don’t like home growers? How in the world do gibbering idiots get themselves put in a position of influencing public policy? It’s definitely not an anomaly, there’s just too darn many of them.

  19. DdC says:

    DoseNation: A movie about the hippest pot dealer in the world, the UK’s ‘Mr. Nice’ crosses the pond and opens in New York this weekend. Best hash smuggling movie ever. U2b

    • DdC says:

      They’re just ugly little rabid monkey’s…

      US CO: ‘Seed-to-Sale” Surveillance
      On July 1, 77 pages of regulations from the state’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division ( MMED ) will go into effect, stipulating in excruciating detail everything from the type of locks to be installed on dispensaries’ doors to the kind of cable used for their video monitoring equipment. The regulations come on top of — and as a result of — a series of bills that have been passed in the state legislature over the past 18 months designed to both crack down on the industry and take advantage of its tax revenue potential.

      US CA: Column: Disgust, Politics And Crime
      Surprisingly for someone who’s nearly impossible to offend, I’ve been disgusted twice this month alone. My stomach turned the first time when the Butte County Board of Politicians passed their medical-marijuana ordinance. The board knew in advance what they were gonna do. What patients, caregivers and growers thought didn’t mean squat, and the public meetings were for show. The members of the Butte County board don’t give a rat’s ass about sick people and don’t mind that the entire campaign against marijuana is based on lies and gullibility, thus the Tea Party connection. It doesn’t matter that not only has nobody ever died from marijuana, the plant is so good for a lot of ailments that the California Legislature and governor made it legal medicine.

      Iran to Hang 300 for Drug Trafficking
      Three hundred people convicted of drug trafficking offenses are on death row in Iran, the Islamic Republic’s judiciary said Monday.

      Free Speech TV- #3
      CDCsWorstNightmare U2b
      Free Speech TV Episode on Private Prisons.

    • DdC says:

      With two cold war police actions, plus Libya and Colombia and potentially Mexico and Central America, deregulation of the moneysluts, owning most of the censored media as edited news was in the 60’s. The last thing they want to loose is the profits of the Ganjawar. If it ever happens history will no doubt repeat, and the victorious will kick back in complacency while other oppressions still take place. Just as every oppressed group aided by stoners, left them cold. Now the politically correct “Medicinal” Ganja users, as with the Gay Act Up “treating” the symptoms while perpetuating the disease. Blamed the hippies for continuing to smoke Ganja when it could be such a lucrative “drug” to sell. Or the specialists Hampsters turning away the Medicinal exclusives and both shunning stoners because they won’t kiss the prohibitionists ass. Plastic sheople fear Liberty.

      Head Spinning
      Tanya Garduno first heard about the street-side sign spinners directing people to Tree of Life Wellness Center ( 559 S. Eighth St., 227-8733 ) some two weeks ago. Owners from Denver had just purchased the center and were advertising the change; this didn’t go over so well with the president of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council.

      “We started receiving some complaints about the sign flyers because, as you know in Colorado Springs, we work very hard to not have that type of image,” Garduno says. “We told them that we were receiving complaints, and we asked them if they would stop.”

      Though Tree of Life couldn’t be reached for comment, employee Paul Abrams did tell KOAA-TV last week, “[The advertising’s] working really well here in Colorado Springs — we’re getting a lot of feedback. In the past four days, [there have been] just a lot of new patients.”

      So, how are things now?

      “I haven’t heard any complaints recently — I didn’t see anyone out the other day,” Garduno says. She adds: “Just, when you see a sign flyer, know that it’s not something that the industry here in Colorado Springs, or the Council, would ever condone.”

      War on Drugs Has Failed Claims a Global Narcotics Watchdog
      And caused ‘Devastating consequences for societies worldwide’

      If you believe it takes someone to grant you Liberty,
      you don’t have Freedom.
      If you depend on a law to grant you Freedom,
      then your a slave to the whim of the enforcer.
      If you require a Constitution to grant you Free Speech,
      you will remain silent.

      US VT: OPED: Legal Weed Not Lockheed
      We can either adopt and adapt to an emerging eco-sustainable cannabis and hemp economy capable of employing the unemployed, saving Vermont farms and generating desperately needed revenue to avoid drastic cuts in human services or resign ourselves to a no-growth, morally dubious dependency in a thinly-disguised scheme by corporate capitalism to “green-wash” its policies of global conquest, market domination and biospheric destruction.

      The Failure That Keeps on Failing

      Thomas Jefferson on Political Parties
      Both of our political parties, at least the honest portion of them, agree conscientiously in the same object: the public good; but they differ essentially in what they deem the means of promoting that good.

      One side believes it best done by one composition of the governing powers, the other by a different one. One fears most the ignorance of the people; the other the selfishness of rulers independent of them. Which is right, time and experience will prove.

      We think that one side of this experiment has been long enough tried and proved not to promote the good of the many, and that the other has not been fairly and sufficiently tried. Our opponents think the reverse. With whichever opinion the body of the nation concurs, that must prevail.”
      ~ Thomas Jefferson to Abigail Adams, 1804

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