NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre presented a mock check to the U.S. Treasury Department in the sum of $14 billion this morning at a press conference on the steps of the General Post Office in New York City.
The $14 billion check total represents the combined savings and tax revenues that would be generated by regulating the sale and production of cannabis like alcohol, according to a 2005 analysis by Harvard University senior lecturer Jeffrey Miron and endorsed by over 500 distinguished economists.
Media representatives from CNN, Fox News, Sirius Satellite Radio, and other news outlets were on hand to cover the event.
“On a day when so many Americans lament having to pay state and federal income taxes, we’re representing America’s millions of otherwise law-abiding cannabis consumers, who are ready, willing, and able to contribute to our struggling economy — while providing truly ‘green’ jobs and allowing police to focus on more important priorities,” NORML told reporters. “All we ask in exchange for our $14 billion is the right to enjoy pot responsibly and in peace.”
Additional background information and photos from this morning’s event are available at The Huffington Post here, and at The Hill‘s Congress blog here. As always, NORML encourages you to leave your feedback in support of marijuana law reform at these to influential blog sites.
NORML is holding follow up, public protest later today at 4:20pm est. We hope to see you there!
Like Irony?
If cannabis has no medical value. Why did our lawmakers allow the pharmaceutical companies to chemically synthesize THC? The main compound in cannabis is THC. They make a drug with it its called Marinol. They sell it for $600 for a months supply.
Yet the people that are sworn to represent us. Will label you a drug dealer if you grow one plant and give you five years in a federal pen. Its all to protect the legal guys they pay the most money in kick backs..
Cherokee Fred Jesus
Taxation with Representation.
Mike, that’s not a picture from the 4:20 protest, that’s from the press conference.
It will take thousands of people marching on DC to get their attention. Pot Heads UNITE we can change the world working together.
Mike in TN
Zippy, Glen Williams, especially Tennessee Activist please please 3 times please feedback on the Incumbent Killer Strategy. To my eyes it’s effective, non-partisan and anonomous (secret ballot). It’s the way the successful special interests win. Call me names, Call me crazy, but please do call. Also to you Ron Paul fans. Next time he’s on TV someone call in and ask him his stance on State MJ prohibition and private sector drug testing. My opposition to Ron Paul is not that he’s a Republican (although I admit it,usually that is enough for me). It’s that when he dropped out he endorsed the Constitution Party. Like Ron Paul they are against most Federal Power, BUT from their own website.
“The Constitution Party will uphold the right of states and localities to restrict access to drugs and to enforce such restrictions.”
THIS IS FROM THE CONSTITUTION PARTY PLATFORM
My state will Reform MJ laws for the better about 3 lifetimes after the other 49 states do. Since I seldom have more than 1. ounce and never more than 2, Federal law doesn’t mean much to me. The two times I was busted for possession the first was by a “city” cop, the other by a county sheriff’s narc squad, so far not by the state police, knock on wood.
“It’s time for change”. That’s right it’s time for change. Legalize marijuana to ease the suffering of the world. Stop all this killing and hatred, what is wrong with people…sow the seeds of love; cannabis is a way to heal the human race of it’s anger and malice; an end to hate and war. Why destroy when you can produce? It’s time for the world to wake up; cannabis is the answer.
they won’t go after the assualt weapons as fail obama said today! but if you take a hit of fukkin weed your
a god damn criminal. There are 20 million of us! We
aren’t going anywhere! Either wake up or STFU!
PUT all 20 million of marijuana users in jail and in
your fuckin prison camps then
ya fuckin nazis im tired of this shit.
http://blog.thehill.com/2009/04/15/a-different-kind-of-tea-party/
There are only 5 responses so far on this when we used to get over 100 posts.
It is Pauls blog on “the Hill’s Capitol Blog”
Thursday, 4-16, 11:45 PM Eastern
Also remember to get letters out on 4-20, next Monday, please.
http://tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index2.php?username=busgreg&page=100
Thanks. This is really important in NC. H-1380 and H-1383 (Medi Cannabis) passed the first reading in the Assembly and is on it’s way through committees. Now is the time to get involved in NC. Our State stands a good chance.
If CNN, Fox, etc., were at the press conference, why have I not seen any coverage on their news channels or websites?
Somebody’s pushing us under the rug.
We have to get louder.
We can only pray that the old farts in Washington will wake up and see the benefits. I hate owing the Chinese trillions of dollars when there is not a need to borrow money from them. If only they could stop being so hard headed, and become more pot headed, there would be no need to borrow trillions and tax our citizens. The police could concentrate on drugs that actually kill like alcohol, coke, herorin, meth. and pills given by corrupt md’s
Great Points Made by NORML I hope a lot of good comes of this
The reason there are only 5 post is because the site is hosed up. I tried to post and after typing my message (they won’t let you cut and paste) and hit submit it comes back with a message you must be signed in to post. I have never signed in to post on the hill before and from what I can find there is no way to log on. Ya think they don’t want us to post the truth they are making millions telling lies!!!!!!!!!
CFJ
STORM THE BASTILLE ! cause as George Carlin says ” This country is done ! ” The whole country is broke and falling apart, but you cant legally plant a seed. We dont have money for schools, protecting the boarder, or inspect food saftey but we have money to arrest people in the possesion of a flower ! THIS COUNTRY IS DONE…. unless we STORM THE BASTILLE !
You know most of the posts are about States rights, but the problem is the government. Until the government changes their stance on this there will be few changes.
How many of you would march on DC? How many have friends that would march with you. Pot heads unite
We should not lose sight of the primary and fundamental reason why cannabis should be legalized. It is because, in a free society as contemplated by our Constitution, the individual right of personal privacy protects against unwarranted governmental intrusion into purely personal matters, such as the decision whether or not to use alcohol, tobacco, red meat, and, yes, cannabis. Simply put, this is none of the government’s rightful business.
To all you marijuana activist’s out there who are trying to get the
plant legalized now is the time.
Copy and Paste this entire message and spread it onto every forum
that you know. Now is the time for us to be heard and let the rest of
the country hear us.
America has fallen on hard times and our economy and it’s people can’t
stand on their own for much longer.
Marijuana is the worlds #1 cash crop and it has more medicinal purposes
then the media will let on. The plant itself will stop the destruction
of the rainforest and will raise the oxygen levels in the air if we are
allowed to cultivate it as we do corn.
The war on drugs is a failure and the prohibition of marijuana doesent
just affect you it affects your entire family.
The plant itself is used in the production of -Paper,Insulation,
clothing,and many many other thing’s. It can and will end this
economic crisis we are in.
Legalizing it would put a stop to the cartels who make more money
then you can believe off it being illegal. The cartels who kill women
and children profit off of it being illegal.
There are no deaths resulting from marijuana ever recorded and it is
Safer then alcohol will ever be and it is not addictive.
Legalizing the plant will create job’s and opportunities to start
small business’s all over the country.
For medicinal purposes it can help with depression, insomnia, and
eating disorder’s.
It has been stated over and over again that marijuana is not a
dangerous drug to use and in a since it can’t even be labeled as a drug.
I myself know that the legalizing of this plant will help the world
in a good way, not bad. and for all of the people that are
Anti marijuana i have to say look up video’s and don’t believe
everything the media tries to tell you.
Put an age limit on the purchasing and consumption of marijuana, and
it will put the regulation of the plant into the hand’s of the
companies themselves and will work alot better at keeping your children
off the “Plant” till they are at a sutable age to decide for themselves
and control themselves and when they are out of highschool.
Drug dealer’s will not make anymore money off of this plant being
illegal and your children will barely be able to get their hands on it
till they are the proper age, same as alcohol. Cause it being illegal
just make’s it easier for children to get ahold of it.
I say Americans need to work together and end the prohibition on
Marijuana and Remember Saying YES to Legalize marijuana Doesent mean
you saying yes to legalize the “Other” and more serious drugs.
America has alot to learn and this is going to be the start of the
Revolution. We are the American people and we don’t need the media
and the government to tell us what is right and what is wrong.
Think for yourself’s Save America and save the world as we know it.
While you are spreading the message around please remember to copy
from “To all you marijuana activist’s” down to this last sentence.
WHATS THE VERDICT?
When will this get up in youtube?
Congratulations to NORML and Allen St. Pierre for making our voice heard. The 420 army is behind you and we’re working to get the message out. see: http://www.reefersmoke.com
AMEN!!
“We are the American people and we don’t need the media and the government to tell us what is right and what is wrong.”
the problem is that most of the country does go with whatever the government and the media says
i agree with daves comment:
“STORM THE BASTILLE! cause as George Carlin says ” This country is done! ” The whole country is broke and falling apart, but you cant legally plant a seed. We dont have money for schools, protecting the boarder, or inspect food saftey but we have money to arrest people in the possesion of a flower ! THIS COUNTRY IS DONE…. unless we STORM THE BASTILLE !
Where is the response!?
i also believe that while making it legal for medical purposes is good, we need tp keep the focus on legalizing period or we risk the fact that if the government does make it ok for medical then the topic of actual legalization will bein political limbo for another 10 years or more just as there will never be a chance of vicodin being legal, and it will put it into the same type of deal where if you are cought with a perscription narcotic you automatically aquire a felony regardless of how much you have, henceforth the prison population will never be fixed and lives will still be destroyed.
oh yeah and im still wanting to know the reactions and comments norml got when presenting the check
Well it doesnt appear its gonna be legal ever i dont wanna give up either.Jus read a article bout what Obama is going to do with this drug war and it said something about stiffer penalties for causual users what tha F**k
IF anyone here thinks that the U.S gov’t will decriminalize Cannabis, then you’ve been fooled. Obama has said in Mexico that his administration will be taking a harder line against drug demand in the U.S, which means they’re going to start rounding us all up.
It’s only a matter of time before they backtrack our comments on NORML and other sites to our e-mail addresses, and then show up at our door with handcuffs.
A good blog by Dianne Frasncis about the dismal failure of our Nations drug policy can be found here.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-francis/
americas-war-on-drugs-a-f_b_188269.html
I am afraid we are in for some more of the same old story, if what the president had to say down in Mexico is any indication. We sure have a wave of support right now, more than ever but if we falter even a little bit them a-holes up in the Congress will just do business as usual. I didn’t vote for the president because I new that he was full of crap, and all his talk of drug reform before the election was just a sellout’s way to try and get all of our votes, so now we need to write to him and tell him what we think of him. I have this bad felling now that we are really in for a hard fight to just get medical marijuana to the people that need it, not to even talk about recreation smoking. The president really showed his hand this time, so what are we going to about it? WE FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
i will be smoking in the streets every day this weekend in san francisco with my its NORML to smoke POT sweatshirt. but where are the big rallys gonna be in every city and on what time to celebrate april 20, 4:20pm in all cities? honestly guys, imagine if we quadruple in size the people in that tax day rally??? not everyone can make it to washington, but every big day we need to aggregate and be heard.
we need to emphasize every reason the prohibition on cannabis and hemp is a crime against humanity!!!
guys, has everyone signed up on change.org to fight to legalize marijuana?
their latest blog has a fantastic video… http://www.change.org/ideas/116/view_blog/call_congress
this is happening. call your representatives. obama needs to learn some shit in mexico and the meeting of the americas on the futility of the national/international prohibition on cannabis and hemp.
just too many lives lost, DEA human hours wasted hunting down a bunch of plants and a bunch of humans wanting to consume or facilitate consumption of said plant. meanwhile this underground economy is exploding as cannabis consumption is at record levels. unfortunately this means gangs get 60+% of funding from facilitating cannabis consumption!! they get their revenue in the form of GUNS & AMMO FROM OUR WALMARTS. are you f-cking kidding me?
we are nearing a million arrests alone per year for cannabis. so many man hours wasted. resources poorly spent. lives ruined.
caught up in the crossfire is the poor hemp plant. i love the seeds. and am looking for a good pair of hemp jeans. but it will be imported from canada, the hemp that is. even though our state felt that we deserve the right to cultivate industrial hemp just last year, f-cking arnollld, the pot smoker himself, vetoed the bill that would have allowed CA to grow it this year!!! get it DONE NATIONALLY NOW. don’t waste our time and our man hours just make it happen. CANNABIS farmers don’t want industrial hemp dudes anywhere near our girls.
EVERYBODY NEEDS TO CALL THIS # 516-833 3983 THEY NEED AMILLION OF EM EVERYBODY DO IT
I would have never Dreamed to see they day someone offers the goverment money and they dont want it meanwhile Arnny in Cali just cut my SSI….what is wrong with this picture?
#62
That’s so messed up!!! 😈
I thought, at first, perhaps you had mis-posted on the Hill Blog,
were using the wrong web-browser, etc.
– – However, the posting requirements ‘there’ appear to be the same as here,
(Just a name, email-addy, and optionally, a website for your screen-name to link to).
– – I did NOT have any trouble pre-composing message,
performing a cut-and-paste from my word-processor to their weblog,
– – HOWEVER, I felt like I had wasted half an hour of my life, also sensing that something is terribly amiss there!!!
(There wasn’t even a “Your comment is awaiting moderation” message, like one would see here when initially post to the NORML Blog).
– – WTF Washington ?!? 👿
Imagine standing next to a campfire just burned down to a nice bed of coals red hot and glowing. Now sit in the chair next to it and pull your shoes off, then your socks. Set back in the chair and let the coals warm your feet till they are good and toasty, now stand up and step both feet into that bed of coals. Feel it burn, now stand there till you feel like your going to pass out from the pain, feel it burning all the way to the bone. Your standing there in that fire and you can’t step out in the most pain you have ever experienced, what would you do to relive that pain? What would you do, almost anything I’d think, especially if it didn’t hurt anyone else. What would you do if you thought that pain would never go away, the doctors tried everything but the pain wouldn’t go away your feet still burned like you were still standing in that fire. Now you find one thing that helps one thing that stops the pain, a wonder cure, after taking the medicine the pain is gone and for a few minutes maybe thirty maybe an hour your feet don’t burn. You can truly relax sink back in the chair and for a while your ok, no pain. Would you take that medicine?? What if that medicine you took was marijuana, you smoked some pot, to relieve that terrible pain. If you can imagine these things you can start to see how I feel everyday from a neuropathy in my legs and feet caused by a bad back surgery. Is it right for my government to tell me I can’t use this substance and be threatened by fines or jail time if caught using or even possessing it, it’s what is legal but is it right. How can our government justify the persecution of people for using a medication that eases their pain. I’m not sure but I would think our elected officials would fight for our right to use it, seems they should consider the millions of people in pain that truly need their help and do the right thing. Please legalize it soon I don’t know how much more pain I can take.
Sincerely,
Mike in TN
If you agree with this copy it and send it to your Congressman, Senator, anyone If you think people like me should live in pain delete this message and have a nice day.
I saw NO news coverage of this on any of the major outlets. Wtf?
It’s about time someone SHOWED our leaders!!!
Now that the picture is clearly etched into the brain of our new President, we can only be patient. 🙂
Amen, Amen, AMEN!
Allen said this would get up on the youtube-channel as fast as possible, but nothing has happend, where is it!! 🙂
This is for#76 let them,they will need to build more prisons if these we hav r filling up THEY TRY ARREST ME THEN I WILL B LIKE NELSON MANDELLA and when its time for me to get out I WILL REFUSE UNTILL SOMETHING IS DONE about this plant it wont bother me ill be in there on tax payers money
“White House tries to combat drug demand with rehab”
Well here we go, they are going to deny us any chance of Decrim. and add more Drug Courts. They will be doing the same thing they have been only instead of people going to prison, we will be forced to take rehab and more then likely drug testing for some time after. Its not better for us believe me. We will be thrown into the Drug Courts even more and marijuana offences will seem to fall, making their numbers look good, but in reality, the Drug Court numbers will increase 3 fold. So if we are arresting 100 pot smokers now, soon they will send 300 to drug court and say they cut 100 arrests, so its working, but they really caught 300 people! Its BS!
We will be more of a target and police will be all over Marijuana Smokers since Drug Courts “will Cure Us” Yeh, like I need to be cured for wanting to Smoke Marijuana that doesnt harm me or anyone? The police will want us to fail drug court too so they can come and arrest us again for failing our drug test 6 months out. Then they will just send us to prison because we failed Drug Court! So its just another ploy to keep the failed policy going for some more time till they see its not working again in 10 years.
This is a blow to everything we have been fighting for, this will set us back 10 years at least, and keep the same failed Policy going and going, like the energizer bunny, it wont stop! This is just a ban-aid for the Mexican gang issue, so it looks like they are trying something! Well its at our expence , man can they screw things up more then they are> Yes they Can!
RE:
Mike,
your words are worth repeating,
however, I have a few more points of my own to add…
– It is unconscionable and immoral for government to
mandate the extinction of any plant-species:
– Especially any species containing compounds also present
in the human-body, compounds for which the body has receptors for
&/or compounds found to be necessary for one’s own functionality and well-being!
Especially a plant-species as versatile and useful as cannabis.
By the way,
– I only halfway comprehend the pain you must be experiencing;
(Have cumulative spinal-trauma, primarily affecting one side of my body).
– One side feels okay, the other side feels like it’s dying away…
The affected-side; constant, perpetual muscle-aches, wincing pains, numbness…
* Anyone who thinks that back-pain / spinal-injury is a trivial-reason for utilizing medical-
cannabis, they ought to experience said-same pain themselves!
* Anyone who says,
‘There are better pain-medications than THAT!‘,
they speak out of ignorance &/or disregard:
– The most common ‘pain-killers‘ are actually WORSE than pot,
e.g.
acetaminophen = liver-damage
aspirin = tinnitus, internal-bleeding, Reye’s Syndrome
ibuprofen = cardiovascular-risks, photosensitivity, nausea
opiates = consipation, nausea, overdose, physical-addiction, stupification
* Anyone who says,
‘Smoked marijuana is not a medicine,
there’s Marinol® / dronabinol, it’s the same thing, except in pill-form…’
They too, also speak out of ignorance:
– Smoking is NOT the only way for one to consume cannabis;
Vaporizers produce said-same rapid-onset, titratable / easily-controllable dosage as
smoking, yet minus carbon-monoxide and tar.
– Marinol® is NOT the same thing as marijuana, it only contains one cannabinoid, THC.
Whole cannabis contains several other cannabinoids in addition to THC,
which work synergistically with it to relieve nausea, neuropathic-pain, glaucoma.
– Permitting synthetic THC, while banning its botanical form,
is analogous to allowing synthetic ascorbic-acid, (vitamin C),
while banning orange-juice and citrus trees!
This inequitable absurdity must NOT continue!
+=+=+=+=+=+=
#84 Mike Says:
April 17th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
– Imagine,
standing next to a campfire,
just burned down to a nice bed of coals, red hot and glowing.
– Now, sit in the chair next to it, and pull your shoes off, then your socks.
– Set back in the chair and let the coals warm your feet till they are good and toasty.
– Now stand up, and step both feet into that bed of coals.
Feel it burn.
– Now stand there,
till you feel like you’re going to pass out from the pain…
– Feel it burning all the way to the bone.
– You’re standing there in that fire, and you can’t step out;
In the most pain you have ever experienced.
– What would you do to relieve that pain?
What would you do?
Almost anything, I’d think, especially if it didn’t hurt anyone else.
– What would you do if you thought that pain would never go away?
The doctors tried everything, but the pain wouldn’t go away!
Your feet still burned like you were still standing in that fire!
– Now, you find one thing that helps,
one thing that stops the pain, a wonder cure.
– After taking the medicine, the pain is gone.
And for a few minutes, maybe thirty, maybe an hour, your feet don’t burn.
– You can truly relax, sink back in the chair, and for a while, you’re ok, no pain.
Would you take that medicine??
– What if that medicine you took was marijuana?
You smoked some pot to relieve that terrible pain.
– If you can imagine these things,
you can start to see how I feel everyday;
From a neuropathy in my legs and feet, caused by a bad back surgery.
– Is it right for my government to tell me I can’t use this substance,
and be threatened by fines or jail time if caught using, or even possessing it?
It’s what is legal, but is it right?
– How can our government justify the persecution of people
for using a medication that eases their pain?
– I’m not sure,
but I would think our elected officials would fight for our right to use it.
– Seems they should consider the millions of people in pain
that truly need their help, and do the right thing.
Please legalize it soon!
I don’t know how much more pain I can take.
Sincerely,
Mike in TN
If you agree with this copy it and send it to your Congressman, Senator, anyone.
If you think people like me should live in pain, delete this message and have a nice day.
What is going on NORML?? I am waiting for an update about this $14 billion check. Also, I’m surpised to NOT SEE any updates about gatherings tomorrow. It seems like NORML would be busy “rounding up the troops”.
Thank you typodemon420, i was thinking the same thing. no time to take the weekend off NORML.Now is the time we need the tv ads running, people out protesting. Need updates on the 14 billion play check. I live in Oklahoma and looking for any protesting going on, i live “5 miles from Oklahoma State Capital Lawn” would love to to protest at the State Capital. But need help on what to do and what not to do, please help me get a game plan ready, any ideas?
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/43248107.html
U.S. manufacturers, including major drug makers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water – contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked.
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/43248107.html
In the above picture, you can just see the FOX news reporter looks pissed. Poor FOX news, its said they are loosing the moral and propaganda wars they have been waging (sarcasm).
Ok! i know how to stop the drug war. don’t give them the money to fight it and then what will they do. cause as you should know income tax is a voluntary tax! so think what you want, I am not giving them 1 red cent. PEACE!!! AL
CANNABIS LEGALIZATION “SPEAK OUT”
The Cannabis flower is the most effective and versatile medicine known to humankind and the hemp plant can provide non-toxic alternatives to almost every product that people consume, from paper and bath products to building materials. With the legalization of cannabis in all its forms New York State residents will have the opportunity to build a prosperous and healthy life based on locally grown agricultural feedstock, immune to inflation. The key issues are the benefits that we are violently prohibited from enjoying and the atrocity that marijuana prohibition has become.
Sunday, May 17, the voice of the New York marijuana legalization movement will be heard in Albany again. One month after the rally on the Capitol steps, Abigail Storm is planning a public “Speak Out” in front of the Capitol where anyone who has something to say will have a chance to voice their opinion. This is part of a rallying effort to encourage people to reach out to Governor Paterson and their state representatives for an end to the prohibition of cannabis hemp. But this time Storm is not just rallying outside.
The day after the “Speak Out”, On Monday, May 18 she is planning on leading a group of concerned citizens into the Capitol building to ask for an audience with Governor Paterson to address what she calls a crime against humanity being commited by our government. “We don’t need a law to give us permission to use this wonderful plant. God already did that. We need a law to protect us from those who want to deprive us of our rights.” She is serious about getting all of the prisoners out of jail who are in for marijuana and getting their children returned their families.
Abigail Storm says, “Its time to plant our seed and give the people a light of hope for a healthy and happy future.”
http://www.nycamp.org
Listen to WAMC Northeast Public Radio News coverage of the April 17 Rally:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news/news.newsmain?action=article&
amp;ARTICLE_ID=1495124§ionID=2706