Open Thread

bullet image NAACP Joins Coalition to End the War on Drugs – E.D. Kain at Forbes does a nice job on the NAACP story.


bullet image Really bad advice to parents from police on drugs

Use the Law. The legal system can provide external accountability and motivation. It supersedes (or often supports) a parent’s rules. A slightly blemished legal record is a trivial threat to your child’s future. A legacy of addiction, on the other hand, is a sure-fire failure. […]

In all cases, law enforcement should be viewed as a resource. From intelligence and guidance, to sanction and recovery. Their role is a critical one and may provide your best hope of thoroughly addressing this daunting challenge.

(Yes, I’m aware my headline of this item needs punctuation or re-wording, but I kind of like it this way.)


bullet image Kids from grow-op homes healthy, drug-free: study

When it comes to children being raised in homes where their parents produced drugs, medically speaking, in most cases the kids are all right, suggests a Canadian study. […]

Additionally, the study said there were fewer health problems among the children examined than those in the general Canadian population.

“We clearly found ourselves that the kids are doing well,” study author Dr. Gideon Koren told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. “Which brings the question, is it healthy to separate them from parents?”


bullet image Bolivia’s President Says He Fears U.S. Plot

Bolivian leader Evo Morales says he’s worried that U.S. authorities will plant something on his presidential plane to link him with drug trafficking when he attends Wednesday’s United Nations General Assembly meeting.

Somewhere, a DEA department head is saying “Damn! All right, scrub operation Flying High.”


bullet image Obama Says Drug Users Must Be Treated as Criminals – Scott Morgan’s latest piece at Huffington Post.

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40 Responses to Open Thread

  1. Cannabis says:

    “A slightly blemished legal record is a trivial threat to your child’s future.” Really bad advice? More like duplicitous. The author’s a D.A.R.E. officer, too. Wow, do they really have your best interests at heart? Nope, they want to bust you and your parents and leave your sister homeless.

  2. Chris says:

    “We clearly found ourselves that the kids are doing well,” study author Dr. Gideon Koren told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. “Which brings the question, is it healthy to separate them from parents?”

    No.

  3. TrebleBass says:

    Great piece by aljazeera: “Children of the Cannabis Trade; An investigation into how Vietnamese children trafficked to work in the UK’s cannabis trade are prosecuted as criminals.”

    http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2011/07/201172795838377646.html

  4. ezrydn says:

    Does the hood-winked reform movement need anything other than Scott’s piece to take up the chant “NO Bama in 2012?” Just how “in your face” does he have to put it???

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Do our fellow potheads who hold such a deep seated, irrational hatred of all things Republican have it in them to turn their back on Mr. Obama?

      • darkcycle says:

        I have nothing like irrational hatred for all things republican. Just a distrust of the motives of the republican party. I hear as many republicans around here grousing about how the republican party has abandoned it’s core principals as democrats grousing about republicans. Probably more.
        Anyway, everybody I know on the left side of the spectrum fled from Obummer a long time ago. Now I’m looking for a third candidate upon whom to waste my vote. Gave up on George W. Obama over a year ago.

      • pfroehlich2004 says:

        Yeah, if the Republicans turn their back on the drug war.

      • Windy says:

        One Republican candidate would definitely turn his back on prohibition, that man is Ron Paul, Gary Johnson is another Republican candidate who would end the drug war, and if those two could be the nominees for President and VP, we’d have the winning team for our side. So please, if you truly want an end to the war on drugs vote for RP in the primaries and caucuses, even if you have to register as a Republican to do so, we NEED this man as the nominee, cuz the rest of the pack are just more of the same. And there are no challengers to Obama on Dem side, at all, let alone one that would reverse this prohibition atrocity.

      • DdC says:

        Those blaming Obombo are either racists or afraid of liberals…

        Budget Cuts Endanger State’s Eradication Program

        Greenway University Medical Marijuana School Is Snuffed Out
        State Orders Greenway University To Stop Teaching, Refund Students full story

        ‘Stoner Stupid’ Myth Goes Up In Smoke
        July 27th, 2011 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

        Could legal pot give Big Pharma a much-needed high?
        Medical marijuana is already massively profitable for a handful of states, so it’s no surprise pharmaceutical giants want in on the action.

        Cannabis is legal for some…

        Not just the IND patients. Obombo hasn’t done a damn thing he hasn’t had the authority to do. Not even close to the fervor of Boosh and McCaffrey with Klintoon. The Supremes ruled in Gonzo v Raich that any exchange, for profit or free was considered Commerce and under the jurisdiction of the Feds. So anything sold is still illegal under the bogus CSA. The only thing the Feds have done concerning re-scheduling is individual cannabinoids not the whole plant bud. They also have patents on them and a monopoly on supply if sublingual ever gets through the FDA. Individuals in states with initiatives legalizing the use are not under Obombo or the DEA since it is not Commerce so it is a 10th amendment states right issue that Obombo hasn’t tried to enforce. California and Alaska looks to be the only two states with a Constitution written for the rights of the citizens and the remaining 16 states and district have politicians initiatives declaring medicinal cannabis and various restrictions. California prop 215 states for anyone for any reason and Alaska has declared small amounts legal for personal use. Feds as a rule of thumb see anything over 99 plants as Commerce or more than an individual could perceivably consume. So Buyers Clubs with or without state initiatives are and will stay prohibited until the CSA is overturned at least concerning Ganja and Hemp. Making any state initiative trying to sell or exchange goods moot. The Feds won’t waste funds on individuals in non legal states either. The state LEO’s can, and they can be worse than the Feds, as well as the jails. Just another embarrassment making all Americans seem like brutal fools for putting up with it let alone the dung worriers and Teabog dippies pushing it. The Ganjawar has more to do with redistributing tax money than saveding the kidlets. Scum of the Earth Production.

        * Note. Compassionate Use Act not the MMJ Act

        “At DEA, our mission is to fight drug trafficking in order to make drug abuse the most expensive, unpleasant, risky, and disreputable form of recreation a person could have.”
        – Donnie Marshall,
        xAdministrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

        * Is The DEA Legalizing THC?
        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.

        Wait, it gets even more absurd.

        Since the cannabis plant itself will remain illegal under federal law, then from whom precisely could Big Pharma legally obtain their soon-to-be legal THC extracts? There’s only one answer: The federal government’s lone legally licensed marijuana cultivator, The University of Mississippi at Oxford, which already has the licensing agreements with the pharmaceutical industry in hand.

        Ya don’t need a weatherman to see which way this wind blows. continued…

      • thelbert says:

        yeah, if republicans turn their backs on trickle down economics.

      • darkcycle says:

        “Obombo hasn’t done a damn thing he hasn’t had the authority to do.”
        Not even extra-legaly and unilaterally starting a few wars? Like Libya, Yemen and Pakistan? Maybe preventing investigations into Boosh torture? Or shielding the banksters from prosecution? (obstruction of justice is a crime Ddc. Obummer is the same. Obummer=Boosh Jr., Boosh Jr.=Klintoon multiplied by Boosh Sr. Do the math.
        Sorry Ddc, he’s even reneged on the MMJ promises. More raids than Boosh Jr.

      • DdC says:

        darkcycle
        July 31, 2011 at 7:46 pm

        “Obombo hasn’t done a damn thing he hasn’t had the authority to do.”
        Still true, devil’s in the details. TV News won’t geterdone.

        Not even extra-legaly and unilaterally starting a few wars? Like Libya, Yemen and Pakistan? Maybe preventing investigations into Boosh torture? Or shielding the banksters from prosecution? (obstruction of justice is a crime.

        That’s beneath you DC, or should be. You ain’t no hitchins. No diversions, stick to the subject. This isn’t an open discussion on obombo, just on those who refuse to believe he is following exactly what he said. Same as Clinton truthfully claiming “I didn’t have sexual relations with that woman” Not according to the Blue Laws of Arkansas where he grew up. What that woman did was an abomination, not a sexual relation at all. We know it was a blowjob. Just not a sexual relationship so no perjury. Legalsleeze. Not me mon. This is about Obombo’s claim to not bust those within legal status in states with initiatives. Not Iraq or Afghan or Libya. I’m not siding with Obombo, nor did I vote for him. But lies are lies, by him or about him, they are still lies.

        Ddc. Obummer is the same. Obummer=Boosh Jr., Boosh Jr.=Klintoon multiplied by Boosh Sr. Do the math.

        He doesn’t have the infrastructure of Boosh and I don’t disagree with any of that entirely, but that is not what the issue is, is it? None of this you bring has anything to do with what he said about busting those with legal status. Of which only individuals are legal, as I said. Buyers Clubs and Commercial grow ops are all he is busting and standing on legal grounds since Gonzo v Raich. Now the only thing people can do is force their Congressional rep to bring a vote to overturn the CSA or at least remove Ganja and Hemp. Commerce Claus is what the Supremes ruled on and what obombo is enforcing. Don’t wonder off.

        Sorry Ddc, he’s even reneged on the MMJ promises. More raids than Boosh Jr.

        Oh its DdC btw, your insult doesn’t change the reality or do your accusations of me siding with obombo. It’s debatable whether he has raided more than Boosh, highly doubtful since Boosh had Walters and 8 years. But again, it is a diversion of what I said. He never made any promises except in profiteers dreams. I can see why those wanting to sell it or create tax appeasement’s and redundant initiatives that have no more bite than the present law, want to whine. Obombo can be blamed for a lot, but he will never meet the treason of the Boosh Klan since WW2. Its silly to think otherwise. You give him too much credit. As for tokers growing for themselves the Feds haven’t busted anyone. Or have states on citizens following state law. So I know reality is a bitch, but don’t insult me with your baseless rants. Read!

  5. Peter says:

    Timothy Shoemaker from DARE sounds like a character from the Salem witch-hunts.

  6. darkcycle says:

    What a self serving crock. So, are you supposed to thank him before, or after your child has been thrown in the locker with kids arrested for much worse? Maybe you should wait until after the fine nearly bankrupts you? And who needs all that school that’s gonna be missed too? Maybe you should thank him after the court ordered social worker invades your privacy and prys into every aspect of your family life? Perhaps it’s better to wait until the child is arrested for an actual petty crime, like shoplifting, then that can be a SECOND conviction, paving the way to a life of involvement with the criminal justice system? Maybe once this involvement has stretched out for a couple of years, through deferred sentencing or lengthy probation, and the child has become acclimated to the system and no longer fears it in any meaningful way…..maybe then we should thank him. Or maybe we should just wait until this conviction for a felony affects his ability to secure a decent job…maybe then….
    This cop is a bastard. One of the worst.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      At least they’re consistent. They tell the kids the same about their parents in DARE class.

      It’s really disappointing that our public schools are falling down on the job of educating our youth. I’ll bet more than half of today’s kids have never heard that snitches get stitches or wind up in ditches. Sheesh, I learned that in 7th grade. Then again it was a private school. Who the heck cares if they can find Canada on a map or not?

  7. no political weasel from either party will agree that it’s time to end the drug war until society at large is calling for it. so in the meanwhile, the focus can indeed remain on “prevention and treatment” (which is what ethan nadleman has asked for) without creating a regulated market in intoxicants.

    the key words you hear from the prohibs are “drug use” — which they intend to stamp out completely. that’s what they mean when they say zero tolerance. you can’t very well pursue a policy of zero tolerance for drug use if you allow a regulated market for drug use, now can you?

    the bad guys continue to eat us up and spit us out by controlling the dialog.

    prevention is the key curse word in this nonsense

  8. antifascist says:

    @brian

    no political weasel from either party will agree that it’s time to end the drug war until society at large is calling for it.

    Society at large has no real voice in a world where it is constantly drowned out by propaganda promoted by the mainstream media, and that is the problem we have with this world today. Get rid of Clear Channel radio and we might stand a chance.

    • there are more and more voices coming to the choir all the time. the problem at the moment is that they are all singing different songs in different languages. the “mainstream” media still has power — but they aren’t *preventing* us from doing anything.

  9. Peter says:

    check out timothy shoemaker’s webpage:
    http://mpoweredparent.com/

  10. Duncan20903 says:

    .
    .
    I see that yet another blue ribbon panel of certifiable geniuses has recommended that cannabis, both medicinal and recreational be re-legalized. Is this blue ribbon panel #187 or #188? I seem to have lost track. #208? You’re kidding, right?

    The Know Nothings will be are already using a bull horn for their hysterical rhetoric over this one. Let’s not forget that Alaska returned to de facto legalization of petty possession and petty cultivation in 2002, and both the rate of Alaskans in “treatment” for cannabis “addiction”and the incidence of “drugged” driving fell significantly over the next 8 years.
    ———————————————
    Yes MAMM which is Mothers Against Meth and Marijuana?? What planet do these people come from?? Oh well, it’s very sad but we know that most likely the irrational fears of the ignorati will win the day over the opinions of experts who have actually studied the issue. I’ll drop dead from shock if Indiana is the first State to re-legalize. After all, the motto of the Know Nothing prohibitionist is to “never let the facts stand in the way of disseminating an effective piece of hysterical rhetoric.”

    Experts say marijuana prohibition has failed

    INDIANAPOLIS – Experts tell Indiana lawmakers that the prohibition against marijuana use in the United States has failed.

    The legislature’s Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee heard testimony Thursday as it began studying whether to legalize marijuana or reduce criminal penalties on small amounts of the drug.
    /snip/

    http://www.wthr.com/story/15166666/experts-say-marijuana-prohibition-has-failed

  11. Duncan20903 says:

    Using fingerprints to determine use of (some) drugs:
    http://www.intelligentfingerprinting.com/

    • darkcycle says:

      Intellegent fingerprinting? What they really dream of is some way to identify cannabis users on sight…like man-teats. 😉

      • Duncan20903 says:

        Well they did it on CSI:NY when they encountered a medicinal cannabis club whose membership was composed of terminally ill patients. They never would have figured it out if Danny hadn’t thought to analyze the fingerprints for trace evidence of cannabis.

      • darkcycle says:

        I guess that’s why I don’t watch TV anymore. (Except for FIM roadracing and Rolex Cup races, that is)

  12. Duncan20903 says:

    .
    .
    Michigan politician is outraged over a voter registration drive and threatens to use the force of law to put a stop to it. He seems unaware that there aren’t any elections scheduled until more than a year from now.

    http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2011/07/senator_upset_at_clinic039s_offer_of_free_marijuana_for_voter_registration

    • DdC says:

      Stealing America: Vote By Vote brings together behind-the-scenes perspectives from the U.S. presidential election of 2004 – plus startling stories from key races in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2006. Unbiased and nonpartisan, the film sheds light on a decade of vote counts that don’t match votes cast – uncounted ballots, vote switching, under-votes and many other examples of election totals that warrant serious investigation.

      11 States Trying Really Hard to Keep Poor, Black, and Student Voters From Voting

      Are the Teabogs Traitors, Serving a Southern Neoconfederacy?

      The spirit was freedom and justice
      And it’s keepers seem generous and kind
      It’s leaders were supposed to serve the country
      But now they won’t pay it no mind
      ‘Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
      And now their vote is a meaningless joke
      They babble about law and order
      But it’s all just an echo of what they’ve been told
      Yeah, there’s a monster on the loose
      It’s got our heads into a noose
      And it just sits there watchin’
      ~ Steppenwolf – Monster

  13. palemalemarcher says:

    The POTUS strategy is to hide behind the other party’s malfeasance in undermining gains in Montana, the unnecessary screening in Florida, and the freshmen only slashing social programs and not the wod bureaucracy. Whatever party you might as well arrest the birds if victory on their terms is to be achieved.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Are you sure that the Montana lawmakers haven’t shot themselves in the foot? Did you know that the number of signatures required to suspend SB-423 and send it for a vote on Election Day 2012 is lower by 1/3 than the number of registered patients and caregivers? The only reason possible why suspending the law might be a bit more than a gimme is that they need at least x% signatures of registered voters from y% of Montana’s legislative districts. But y ≠ 100%.

      The Montana lawmakers should stay out of casinos. They’ve demonstrated an irrational willingness to take sucker bets, and they’ve decided to play for all or nothing on top of it. Polls still show Montana voters support for the concept of a medicinal cannabis patient protection law pushing 70%, albeit with more restrictions. If the voters spank the lawmakers on this issue it’s game over, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 for the Montana Know Nothing prohibitionists.

      The Montana Know Nothings that lobbied for repeal were caught in a bald faced lie when the numbers on teen use in Montana came out subsequent to the passage of SB-423, and youth use had fallen 2% since 2009 and 4% since 2000 and the Know Nothings were vigorously working the argumentum ad liberi claiming that the medicinal patient protection law had cause Montana youth use to skyrocket, even going so far as to feature a fantasy land teen age girl who prostituted herself to be able to buy medical merrywanna. All lies, all proven.

      In 1997 the Oregon legislature voted fairly decisively to re-criminalize cannabis. We took exception to that, got it on the 1998 ballot for a vote up or down and the voters of Oregon spanked the lawmakers’ by a margin just a hair better than 2-1.

      http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Oregon_Ballot_Measure_57,_Possession_of_Marijuana_a_Class_C_Misdemeanor_%281998%29

      In 1996 the Arizona legislature gutted the 1996 medicinal cannabis patient protection law. In 1998 the Arizona voters voted to require a 75% supermajority rather than a simple majority to allow the legislature to play games with citizen initiated ballot initiatives. Also in Arizona in 1998 the enemies of freedom managed to get a ballot initiative which would have made decriminalizing any Federal schedule I substance against Arizona law and they got spanked on that one too.

      http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Arizona_Voter_Protection,_Proposition_105_%281998%29

      http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Arizona_Medical_Use_of_Schedule_1_Drugs,_Proposition_300_%281998%29

      There really is a considerable cohort of voters who are our natural enemies, but who see red when lawmakers ignore the will of the people. For some reason I have it in my head that in Montana that assertion is especially true.

      1998 really was a great year for cannabis law reform advocates.

      • allan says:

        In 1997 the Oregon legislature voted fairly decisively to re-criminalize cannabis. We took exception to that, got it on the 1998 ballot for a vote up or down and the voters of Oregon spanked the lawmakers’ by a margin just a hair better than 2-1.

        And not only did the voters undo the legislators action by 2 to 1 but it was accomplished in less than 45 days if memory serves. The un-recriminalization bill received more votes than the OMMA. Yet to this day we focus on medical, largely I know because after a certain point of maturity (physical, of course) we automatically become patients.

        The 1998 election was my up-front and in-my-face first hand witnessing of the WO(sf)D in action. Asshats ruined my life… the only saving grace was that for the first time I met cops (and got to talk to folks like Joe McNamara and Jim Gray) who said “we agree with you.” 5 years later or so up springs LEAP. And now we have the NAACP (no radical libs them folks) joining in… hooraw!

        And yeah, as brian notes, this ever-growing “we” may be singing different lyrics at times or maybe even out of key but lord knows the sight of others stepping up to stand with us is heartening. One of these summers soon I really want to stand in the water smoking a totally legal, no registered patient, just a free-f’ing-man joint, at my fishing hole on the Willamette River. I swear I’ll probably levitate.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Oh, don’t you know that the Florida welfare whiz quiz law law is going to the SCOTUS, and it doesn’t have precedent on its side.

  14. vickyvampire says:

    Experts say Marijuana Prohibition has Failed- I usually think experts are full of crap on most things, but in this case their Fraking Brilliant Spot on.

  15. Julian says:

    Completely unrelated but if anyone can help I believe it would be the readers of this blog. I am looking for the episode of Dr. Oz that was solely about Medical Marijuana. I believe it was season 2 episode 129 or 130. I have not been able to find a copy anywhere and there a quite a few people here in Florida who love Dr. Oz but don’t believe in medical marijuana and I want so badly to let them watch the episode. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

  16. DdC says:

    Ancient Munchies

    The Oldest Recorded Cannabis Recipe
    The following recipe is taken from what is considered the oldest cookbook ever written. Known as De Honesta Voluptate Et Valetudine (Of Honest Voluptuousness and Health), it was written by Bartholomaeus Platina in 1475 and contained around 300 recipes, one of them being for cannabis.

    To make cannabis yourself known as flax for thread

    Use a mallet to crush clods collect after good harvest

    Taken as food in wine or cake

    Add cannabis to nard oil in an iron pot

    Crush together over some heat until juice

    A health drink of cannabis nectar

    Carefully treat food and divide for the stomach and the head

    finally remember everything in excess may be harmful or criminal.

    OLD PEOPLE ARE STONED
    I think I could have a ton of fun with my grandparents if I were blazed: rocking chairs outside, blankets on our laps, talking about how they keep their lawn so healthy. Dude, do a big ass puzzle! Or bingo at the rec! That would be amazing. I might lose them when I wanna get an assload of buffalo wings and play Mario Kart all night, but they’d probably be ready for bed around that time anyway.

    So I guess Bidon’s bogus RAVE Ax will be overturned eh…

    Ecstasy Study Shows MDMA Won’t Harm Your Brain
    Startling results of one of the most extensive studies regarding the illegal drug Ecstasy shows that MDMA won’t harm your brain. The study was published during the second week of February in the journal Addiction and found that 3,4-Methylenedioxyethampetamine (MDMA or Ecstasy) will not effect cognitive function in humans. The study is contrary to the long held beliefs of the illicit drug’s harmful effects.

    Kids from grow-op homes healthy, drug-free: study

  17. DdC says:

    Cocaine – The evolution of the once ‘wonder’ drug
    CNN NEWS – …”in 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Act, banning the nonmedical use of cocaine, as well as other drugs, like marijuana.”

    Coca, Bolivia, and Law 1008

    cocaine toothache drops.jpg

    The history of cocaine

  18. Duncan20903 says:

    .
    .
    As incredible, far-fetched, and you’d lying if you say you predicted it as it may seem, from the bump, bump, bump, another one bites the dust file, Let’s welcome the Indianapolis Star to our side of the table. Finally, a media endorsement from a MSM publication that doesn’t have the word Time in its name.

    Start reform at the grass roots

    /snip/
    Another researcher testified that economists across the political spectrum support legalizing — and taxing — marijuana.

    That’s still a drastic step, and Indiana isn’t likely to take it any time soon. There is plenty of perfectly conservative reason, however, for liberal measures short of full legalization. Decriminalizing possession of small amounts (one ounce can bring up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine) would hardly jeopardize public safety. Allowing strictly monitored medical use would not compromise public health.

    Reform of the state’s entire criminal code came before the legislature in the session just past and probably will occupy the front burner in 2012. Much modernizing will have to be done with the code, which dates back nearly four decades. Marijuana would make an ideal bipartisan starting point.

    http://www.indystar.com/article/20110801/OPINION08/108010312/Start-reform-grass-roots?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p

    Does anyone want to start making a list? Well I do. Let it be carved in stone. Heck these media outlets are just a short hair away from being a burning bush equivalent anyhow.

    The Seattle Times
    Time Magazine
    The Los Angeles Times
    The Indianapolis Star

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Oh for the love of money the Indy Star censored the word SCROG. But they did let me post screen of green. Go figure that one out.

  19. Duncan20903 says:

    .
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    It seems that nowadays they’re not allowed to burn merrywanna in Muskogee.

    http://paulsvalleydailydemocrat.com/statenews/x1406721220/Heat-damages-marijuana-crops-in-Oklahoma

    Well it sure seems the scourge of global warming/climate change/impending ice age/whichever PC phrase is approved today is starting to have significant ramifications in the US.

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