Want more proof of mainstream media paying closer attention to cannabis prohibition?
Check out not one but two interesting National Public Radio programs that feature stories looking at aspects of cannabis prohibition:
Jorge Cervantes ‘comes out’ of his smokey closet on NPR’s Tell Me More. Jorge gives a frank and honest interview about his life as a best-selling cannabis cultivating author and traveling the world reseaching the cannabis plant.
Planet Money’s David Kestenbaum takes a second look at cannabis in a week (‘Stoned Economist‘ was last week’s offering) when he tries to figure out ‘how can an ounce of pot cost $1,200?‘.
Even Reader’s Digest is getting into it (sort of).
There is feature called, “Outrageous,” and in the March 2010 issue, it is titled “Terror in the House,” too many cops are breaking down the wrong doors in their quest for arrests.
The first example is Cheye Calvo & family. . . also mentioned is Kathryn Johnston. . . and others. . .
Alas, they don’t come to the obvious conclusion – this is an artifact of the Drug War. But at least knowledge of the abuses has reached the more-or-less mainstream media. . .
Marijuana reform is very much at hand. It is especially close in Washington state where Sensible Washington has filed an initiative I-1068 to remove ALL penalties for possession, sale, and cultivation of marijuana.
http://sensiblewashington.org/
Check it out and support your vanguards on the fight to repel marijuana prohibition. If you’ve got digg, stumbleupon, reddit, ect. please add the site and vote it up.
If you’ve got facebook here are some more simple ways to show support,
Sensible Washington(Fan Page): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sensible-Washington/250965900741?ref=mf
I Support I-1068 to Legalize Marijuana in Washington State in 2010(Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=311855214024
Please support I-1068
It is very hard to predict the pricing of legal marijuana
because there are too many unknowns. The amounts of taxes that politicians will put on marijuana is one of the biggest factors. Common sense would be to keep the price low enough to remove the black market,but it has been a long time since common sense and politician can be used in the same sentence,unless you are noting the lack of.
This just shows that NPR is and will be the real News force of America..
How can an ounce of pot cost 1200.00? that’s the point, after the lawyers and politicians get their slice of the pie. and if we all get the petitions for complete legalization? it will cost you pennies. but the drug nazi’s won’t have a job, the prison guards won’t have any prisoners, big lumber won’t have paper mills, big oil will have a bio-fuel competitor, carbon sequestration will clean the air better than trees, big alcohol will lose customers, big tobaccco will lose customers, big pharma will lose customers, and big government will lose face. we all now know how and why they have kept marijuana criminalized, but when it’s proven marijuana heals and helps pain and suffering, who’s the criminals?
Nice… where are all the comments? Test, 1, 2, 3.
In response to J. Shaffer: That is ridiculous!!! I’d sue the cops or something if they broke down MY door under false arrest! That’s just wrong!
Dizzle: Also, another great site is MPP.org (Marijuana Policy Project) for more sign-ups. Also, NORML (you can find your state and get updates e-mailed to you or on your FaceBook). I get my updates from VA NORML for my FaceBook.
Personally, I enjoy keeping myself updated with these sites to learn all I can about marijuana and medical marijuana so I can find sites that misunderstand the uses of marijuana and debate what they are saying and better inform them about the truth. 🙂
Why SHOULD we have to be “in the closet” about smoking while alcohol and tobacco are freely advertised?
Bad weather in Washington, DC – they have had record snowfall. Also here in Philadelphia – nearly 71″ thus far with more coming next Monday!
Both were fairly decent interviews, and I especially enjoyed listening to Jorge Cervantes. However, I have to point out the flawed logic in the Stoned Economist. In his estimate of tax raising revenues he failed to incorporate or consider the tax money that would be saved by ceasing to arrest and house cannabis consumers. He also failed to consider all the other taxable hemp products that would accompany full scale cannabis legalization such as paper, fiber, plastic, fuel, construction materials, and food. We must never forget those other important commodities.
Wouldn’t it be nice if National Public Radio had a weekly show about cannabis/hemp reform. Much like Car Talk with the two hilarious brothers Click and clack. Maybe Russ and Allen could host and have call ins from their listeners. I would love to hear that one! I do listen to the daily audio stash and like that a lot. I wonder who the major sponsors would be. High Times and some of the dispensaries from legal states.
Michel Martin the host sounded like she knows the score and is probably a closet user herself.
George Van Patten aka Jorge Cervantes would confuse some skeptics with his talk of “I look at myself as being Jorge’s manager. And Jorge comes out once in a while. And when he’s there, everything’s fine. But most of the time, he stays in the closet.”
I understand what he means but can see how what he said could be taken the wrong way.
Did like very much that George used the word Cannabis more than marijuana.
We have a similar and yet different problem here in South Dakota.
Marijuana is in the news often here, and yet very rarely is it in a positive light.
When I have addressed this to ABC networks and other parent and sister affiliates, they are quick to point out that the media reflects what the citizens wish to know. I seriously doubt this as I have spoken with several residents of the state from Rapid city to Sioux Falls and from Aberdeen to Sioux City, and yet I find that many are in support of legalizing marijuana completely or at least support medicinal use.
We fell short in 2006 by only a few hundred signatures to move it forward, and as of now I know that we have greatly exceeded the number required this time around, and am proud to know that Emmit has done a wonderful job at organizing the efforts here at least as a recognized face and body to our state legislatures.
I have received letters and emails from my state reps that adamantly oppose any legislation to make available any form of marijuana.
It is time to take the control away from these reps and put it back into the hands it belongs, the Citizens of our state and country.
When we collectively demand change we will get it, but until then we will only be throwing pebbles into the ocean, and it is going to take a very long time to get results this way. Demand that Yours and MY representatives, represent what you want, move them out of office if they dont.
It wont be long before we have a historic change in our country in regards to the face of government, it is a fairly old group in office and power now, and they are starting to drop like poisoned mice, maybe because they ate to many of their own lies, maybe because they didnt smoke a bowl when they should have, either way they are going away! This will greatly open the doors of congress to a much more accepting and compassionate congress, that may actually have a better understanding of our current culture versus trying to remain the same stagnant controlling government.
A powerful government is one that puts control in the hands of those who own it, and faith in them to make wise decisions, with reserved ability to adjust the laws and policies as necessary to cater and keep pace with current changes and demands, without discard of our political structure and faith in our ability to govern with less!
When we enact laws to protect the ignorant and stupid, the stupid and ignorant will flourish and beat us down with their expertise in stupid ideas and methods of control!
Sorry for the rant, I will stop now!
There would be no taxes applied to home grown pot, would there?
I think this is yet another case where Americans have let Fear be their primary motivator. Cops Fear not being able to keep the number of officers we have currently roaming the streets. Sorry guys we are probably going to need more of you (for a little while at least). Between monitoring legal growers for compliance with state and federal safety standards, and busting “unlicensed” black-market growers, I think we’ll need just as many if not more of you out there.
Fear that “EVERYONE” will start smoking pot: Yeah, that is a good one. I seem to recall that same argument being used against alcohol being re-legalized. It’s been 70+ years since we ended alcohol prohibition, and our streets aren’t careening with stumbling drunken-drivers yet. I would expect the number of users to increase only by the percentage of people who don’t currently use due to it’s legal status. Believe it or not there really are people out there who simply do not enjoy it, and have no desire to do it legal or not! I’d also expect the number of users to decline over time, as marijuana would lose the glamor of it’s illegal status (plus teenagers would no long be able to buy or sell it).
Fear that we have been oh so wrong all of these years: Tough pill to swallow that only gets harder to swallow with every person our war on drugs destroys.Rather than worrying about egg on our face, we really ought to be more concerned with how we are going to rehabilitate those who have been wrongly incarcerated.
In the grander scheme of things, I think the positive aspects of legalization far out-weigh the negatives. We’d sow up a lot of the little black-hole that suck BILLIONS of dollars out of our local, state, and federal economies every year. Create millions of new jobs, and thousands of new businesses. Redirect BILLIONS of tax-payer dollars back into education, public work’s projects and national defense.
-Oz
“Legalize cannabis = Healthcare reform”
And the biggest kick to our economy,the stopping of the flow of billions of dollars,untaxed,into Mexico’s economy
and into our own. Whether a person is buying the commercial weed when it is available or grows their own.
i agree with chris r 100%. ever since the reguns got in the white house the u.s. has not been the same. just say no was and still is a joke. the polictations of today have no back bone. they say what you want to hear and then when they get elected they don’t know you or care about you.when 2012 comes along if it’s not legal by then we shere don’t want the current govonor of mn.that would be a step backwards and a bad move for the country, he’s anthor g.w.b.
when the power of love overcomes the love of power only then can we be free! I had that slogen on a zippo lighter when I was a kid in viet nam. it has been 40 years since I worked for,and was trained by our government to kill people.As of this writing I am facing jail time for pot poss. Now thats what I call power over the people!! Stand up people before its too late!!
Perhaps they will legalize it for commercial consumers in the very near future, but it would be a slap in the face to have the shit taxed out of it, making it unaffordable for those that need it medicinally. Also, are we factoring in Medicare and Medicaid? Will the government pay for your pot prescriptions? It’s easy to say you’ll grow your own, but people hardly grow their own food, and you need that to live.
I think that now is the time to begin scripting for a TV medical mariuana ad. I have a script with real patients showing before and after behavior related to the use of medical marijuana: migraine sufferers, cancer chemotherapy, the chronic back pain, IBS, neuropathies (diabetic, trauma nerve damage) and others. The visual shows the irritation, impatience and anger associated with pain. Showing adults being impatient and angry, mistreating their children and grandchildren and spouses. It shows the dramatic change with the use of this medicine. Fade ins, fade outs. The loving grandmother with migraine, the cancer chemotherapy with no appetite, the urgency and pain with IBS,on and on. Real patients. I have had several that have volunteered to do it. It may be some time in coming when the atmospere is more condusive. I think it would be most effective because people would see themselves.
Decriminalize pot altogether, encourage people to grow, government brokers the pot through Liquor stores (same laws apply) at lower than street price, but takes a 10% ‘fee’ off the top?, with a spot for organic, pesticide free weed.
Looking for signatures please visit this website and sign:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/decriminalizemarijuana