Again, next time you hear or read about law enforcement or federal anti-drug agencies employing the claim ‘We don’t make the laws, we only enforce them’, please reference the below totally biased, paranoid, inaccurate and self-serving example from the Drug Enforcement Administration to counter such claims.
Unlike the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), it is not clear that Drug Enforcement Administration is mandated by Congress to oppose any efforts by citizens to peaceably and lawfully change cannabis laws.
While each and every one of the DEA’s supposed top ten ‘facts’ about legalization are easily rebutted, I think my favorite ‘fact’ presented by our tax dollars at DEA is #6, where the DEA purposely misleads the general public by claiming that Alaska ‘legalized’ cannabis in the 1970s, and upset voters in 1990 effectively saved the state from the dreaded ‘Devil’s Weed’.
What really happened in Alaska regarding cannabis policy?
The Alaska Supreme Court, relying on the most citizen-supportive state constitution in the United States, ruled in the Ravin case in 1975 that the state constitution afforded its citizens strong privacy rights, including the ability to possess one ounce of without fear of arrest. In other words, just like numerous other states (thirteen!) Alaska DECRIMINALIZED the possession of cannabis, it never legalized the substance in the standard sense of the word where adults could cultivate and sell it.
Since the tragic and expensive folly of cannabis prohibition began in 1937 by a legislative fiat in the Congress and signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt (who was a keen supporter of ending alcohol prohibition, signed the Volstead Act and celebrated the end of alcohol prohibition at the White House with some of the first legal booze), not a lawful constitutional amendment such as was needed to both prohibit and re-legalize alcohol sales. Unfortunately, no state has EVER legalized cannabis cultivation or sales for non-medicinal purposes. None! The DEA is wrong to insinuate otherwise.
What happened in 1990 to Alaska’s cannabis decriminalization laws? Did mobs of angry voters, fed up with excessive cannabis use (or even above national average cannabis consumption rates) driven by an otherwise, for the average person, largely obscure 1975 court decision be compelled to place a voter initiative on the ballot to, according to our not so dutiful civil employees at the DEA, de-legalize cannabis in the state?
About the only item correct in the DEA’s #6 ‘fact’ about legalization is that the voters narrowly voted to end the state’s decriminalized laws for possessing one ounce. That, by the way, was largely a function of not the grassroots efforts of Alaskans, but of our first official ‘drug czar’ William Bennett (and his ‘Mini-Me’ and future Propagandist-in-Chief against cannabis as the longest serving drug czar, John Walters).
Bill Bennett, freshly minted as drug czar chose as one of the office’s first missions, consistent with its Joe Biden-written and Congressionally-approved charter to oppose cannabis law reforms as a matter of policy and function (science, morality, and economics be damned!), they chose to target what they perceived the lowest hanging fruit possible to capture: Go to the state with the most tolerant cannabis laws—Alaska was chosen—using numerous federal apparatus and tax dollars, whip up fear and emotional contagion in the population broadcasting rank anti-cannabis propaganda—notably with law enforcement, women, parents, church groups, oil companies and the US military/National Guard—and knock the supposedly ‘liberal’ cannabis law off the law books in hopes of starting a legislative and/or voter initiative backlash against cannabis in then 11 states that had already decriminalized the possession of (usually) one ounce.
The peak of the Bennett-driven effort to change cannabis laws in Alaska as I recall was a frenetic, mainly one-sided show featuring Bill Bennett at peak bluster debating a counter-culture writer on the then very popular daytime Phil Donahue Show (notably known for its high ratings among women viewers).
What actually has turned out in Alaska since 1990 that the DEA didn’t want the public to know in its so-called ‘fact’ sheet and misleads by omission in trying to portray Alaska as a state whose citizens ‘de-legalized’ cannabis and don’t favor its reform?
Well…
1) Post the vote in 1990, NORML supporters in Alaska who favor cannabis law reform, along with ACLU, successfully sued to have the voter initiative overturned as it violated the state’s constitution.
The Alaska Supreme court ruled Ravin was still the law of the land because the personal privacy protected under the state’s constitution could not be voted away in an initiative. The justices ruled that if the minor possession of cannabis were to be made illegal consistent with the state constitution (and their previous rulings), then Alaskan’s elected policymakers and citizens need to amend the state constitution.
In later court challenges in Alaska to enhance penalties, pushed by the Governor, the state courts not only ruled against the government, they increased the amount of cannabis a citizen could possess up to a quarter pound (four ounces)!
Regrettably, the most recent court decision in Alaska has reduced the amount from a ‘QP’ back to an ‘OZ’.
Ooops! Sorry Billy and Johnny (and the DEA), Alaska’s liberty-loving state constitution trumped your efforts. You lost, but oddly still cite Alaska to this day as some kind of warped ‘victory’. If it was a victory, even in the strictest sense of the word, it is the definition of a Pyrrhic victory.
2) The citizens of Alaska voted for medical access to cannabis in 1998, 58% – 42%. The law has had little to no negative consequences in the state from a public health or safety point of view. Medical cannabis, like in most states that adopt it, is ‘no big’ deal despite the DEA’s efforts to convince lawmakers, media and the public.
3) In 2004, a ballot initiative to actually legalize cannabis in Alaska largely funded by the Marijuana Policy Project lost 55% – 44%.
See Alaska’s current laws here.
This fall, with the voters of California having the opportunity in a binding voter initiative to actually become the first state to legalize cannabis (Field Poll surveys in the state indicate 56% support legalization), let’s show the anti-cannabis bureaucrats at the DEA and ONDCP (just to name two of over two dozen taxpayer-wasting federal government bureaucracies that largely oppose cannabis law reforms) a thing or two about what their employers—we the taxpayers and voters—want regarding a functional cannabis policy where the herb is legally controlled and taxed for responsible adult enjoyment and relaxation just like caffeine, alcohol and tobacco products.
To send a clear message to the DEA, please support Tax Cannabis 2010 in California!
Summary of the DEA’s Top Ten Facts on Legalization
Fact 1: We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.
The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is down by more than a third in the last twenty years, while cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent. Ninety-five percent of Americans do not use drugs. This is success by any standards.
Fact 2: A balanced approach of prevention, enforcement, and treatment is the key in the fight against drugs.
A successful drug policy must apply a balanced approach of prevention, enforcement and treatment. All three aspects are crucial. For those who end up hooked on drugs, there are innovative programs, like Drug Treatment Courts, that offer non-violent users the option of seeking treatment. Drug Treatment Courts provide court supervision, unlike voluntary treatment centers.
Fact 3: Illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful.
There is a growing misconception that some illegal drugs can be taken safely. For example, savvy drug dealers have learned how to market drugs like Ecstasy to youth. Some in the Legalization Lobby even claim such drugs have medical value, despite the lack of conclusive scientific evidence.
Fact 4: Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science.
According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no future in smoked marijuana as medicine. However, the prescription drug Marinol-a legal and safe version of medical marijuana which isolates the active ingredient of THC-has been studied and approved by the Food & Drug Administration as safe medicine. The difference is that you have to get a prescription for Marinol from a licensed physician. You can’t buy it on a street corner, and you don’t smoke it.
Fact 5: Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal.
The Legalization Lobby claims that the United States has wasted billions of dollars in its anti-drug efforts. But for those kids saved from drug addiction, this is hardly wasted dollars. Moreover, our fight against drug abuse and addiction is an ongoing struggle that should be treated like any other social problem. Would we give up on education or poverty simply because we haven’t eliminated all problems? Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction-whether in taxpayer dollars or in pain and suffering-government spending on drug control is minimal.
Fact 6: Legalization of drugs will lead to increased use and increased levels of addiction. Legalization has been tried before, and failed miserably.
Legalization has been tried before-and failed miserably. Alaska’s experiment with Legalization in the 1970s led to the state’s teens using marijuana at more than twice the rate of other youths nationally. This led Alaska’s residents to vote to re-criminalize marijuana in 1990.
Fact 7: Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand.
Crime, violence and drug use go hand in hand. Six times as many homicides are committed by people under the influence of drugs, as by those who are looking for money to buy drugs. Most drug crimes aren’t committed by people trying to pay for drugs; they’re committed by people on drugs.
Fact 8: Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse.
The Legalization Lobby claims drugs are no more dangerous than alcohol. But drunk driving is one of the primary killers of Americans. Do we want our bus drivers, nurses, and airline pilots to be able to take drugs one evening, and operate freely at work the next day? Do we want to add to the destruction by making drugged driving another primary killer?
Fact 9: Europe’s more liberal drug policies are not the right model for America.
The Legalization Lobby claims that the “European Model” of the drug problem is successful. However, since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled. And Needle Park seems like a poor model for America.
Fact 10: Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not jail time.
The Legalization Lobby claims that America’s prisons are filling up with users. Truth is, only about 5 percent of inmates in federal prison are there because of simple possession. Most drug criminals are in jail-even on possession charges-because they have plea-bargained down from major trafficking offenses or more violent drug crimes.
@Justin
“how long until it’s legalized so we can just all go point and laugh at the DEA office?”
ROTFL!
The DEA is actually right and wrong. My research has led me to believe that smoked cannabis does NOT have any medicinal value BUT ingested cannabis does. God put it on this earth to help mankind through allot of turmoil, but your body is a temple. Smoke inhalation of any kind is harmful to your health. The DEA and the federal government serve a secret society that is also well aware of this. They have enforced laws ensuring that citizens can only afford to smoke it. Great risk is involved in order to grow enough to eat. Another system the government profits off of- Drug enforcement. Smoke leads to lung cancer, lung cancer leads to medical bills, the government now owns health care…. Do the math. Eating cannabis is actually quite healthy. That’s the way it was meant to be. It’s in the holy bible. Which is written in code some of the time. Learn what your leaders are not telling you, and the truth WILL SET YOU FREE.
[Editor’s note: You may not find cannabis to be medicinal when smoked, but the vast majority of patients who use cannabis prefer smoking (or vaporizing) to ingestion for any number of reasons, from costs to length of medicinal affect to need for immediate onset to self titration.]
Fact #9 is poorly researched to say the least. Portugal is in Europe and is leading the way.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
I have had an ongoing discussion with a retired DC (Capital hill) policeman that I work with about medical MJ. He knows that I use it, illegally, for my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I haven’t tried to hide it and have discussed it openly.
Last week I changed one thing in our discussions, and his attitude changed, for the better, dramatically. I stopped using the L word, legalize, and instead began to use the term regulate and control. He now understands that it is totally unregulated and is controlled be criminals. He also went home and asked his sons if it was true that it was easier to get MJ in high school than beer.
Today he signed a PUFMM petition.
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Fact 3 – Illegal drugs are illegal because they’re dangerous?
Alcohol KILLS 75,000 Americans a year, and addicts 15% of those who use.
Tobacco KILLS 450,000 Americans a year, and addicts 30%.
Cannabis kills ZERO Americans a year, and can cause DEPENDENCE in 10%.
Alcohol & tobacco kill and are addictive, cannabis does not, and is significantly less so. Fact 3 is disproven.
You want to know whats not healthy? Arresting me, giving me economic problems, and throwing me in jail to butt heads with gang-bangers.
It is spring and the Ways and Means Committee is in the process of approving all federal agency budgets. That is why the DEA had to get this out. This propaganda sheet was produced trying to convince the W&MC that the DEA is doing their job well enough to be funded their 2 billion dollar budget.
If you would like to protest the wasting of our tax dollars on an agency that can’t even stop drugs in the prison system:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=10470
On a more cheerful note,the ONDCP is cutting funding too DARE and other school drug education programs,or the W&MC is.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/89853197.html
You have to know that if they are cutting these kind of programs,the money is running out for funding failed programs.
The problem is the DEA thinks it’s OK to tell us what to do with our bodies. IT’S MY body, not YOURS.. I should be able to do whatever I WANT with it as long as I’m not hurting anyone else.. wtf.. They can’t even touch on that topic because there really isn’t anything they can say except THEY control your body wit the blessing of the govt..
Fighting about legality, etc is all good.. but the real fight should be for our bodies.. as much as I don’t like the analogy, it’s a true one.. abortion deals with a womans right to her body, why don’t people who want to use drugs allowed to do what they want with their bodies (provided they aren’t hurting anyone else, which is already illegal anyway (on or off drugs))?? I think this should be the REAL fight.. we are supposed to be constitutionally protected but we’re not.. we don’t even have control of our bodies!
The Dea and government will never legalize cannabis. They would be out of work if they did. They have us to Feed off of and make a living ruining other people’s lives. They’ve been doing it for so long, why quit? These right wing fascists will never give up or surrender, we need to defeat them and drive them into the hills. It’s the only way.
“Ninety-five percent of Americans do not use drugs.”
It’s damn funny when you can see right through the words, though.
Well, do you have the statistics of the Alaska 1990 election and why would voters re criminalize marijuana, also up to the present day in Alaska are you still eligible to possess one ounce?
[Editor’s note: If you mean by statistics the vote total, it is in the blog post (55% Against-44% For) and the link to the NORML state section indicates that cannabis is still decriminalized for one ounce in Alaska.]
idk I am confused, but I still think that the people in the D.E.A. think they are doing the right thing…..we need to stop attacking them like this now normls rebut was good just want we need. we need more heads vs feds talk. It is a shame if the two side would stop being so one sided we would really get some were. and the number ten is terrible to me we are only imprisoning 125000 people for simple po….shut up that is a shit load of people.
I have a few theories.
1. My brother brought this one up. At first, I was like “Nah.” But the more I thought about it…
Who’s to say these cartels haven’t infiltrated us more than we think? What if these cartel leaders have gotten into our politicians’ lives and threatened their families with death if they legitamize pot?
2. They definitely are thinking of their potential job loss, but maybe they see how much some businesses depend on cannabis being illegal – gardening stores and electric compaies are just two examples.
3. With number 2 above in mind, they may feel this needs to be a slow transition so said companies don’t go under. This police state sucks, but regulatiojn needs to be a baby-step gradual process that doesn’t drag our economy the rest of the way down the toilet.
4. They need a new substance to take MJ’s place in the prohibition sector of Washington. They tried it with booze first, which was a miserable failure. When that was over, they moved on to cannabis. I see the next wave, and it is tobacco. Big tobacco’s going down in a big way (with a lot of lies about SHS, just like the lies in the 20’s with beer and the 30’s with weed). Soon, you will see the brown leaf and the green leaf swapping places on the CSA – mark my words.
I say, all of the above points could be very easily worked around. These politicians just don’t want to put the work into it.
to #52 who says:
“The DEA is actually right and wrong. My research has led me to believe that smoked cannabis does NOT have any medicinal value BUT ingested cannabis does.”
nonsense. take a few tokes and feel the deep medicinal bliss. vaporizing is the wave of the next few years. cleared up forty + years of smokers cough.
the dea is evil in action.
peace
so ….
how many people would it take to encircle the dea, tossing flowers, holding hands, tokin reefer and so forth?
levitating the pentagon back in ’67 was one of the flower children’s most memorable pranks. remember abby hoffman? ah nevermind
the idea (everyone is high of course) is that we chant ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (or sumthin), holding hands and visualize raising the dea off its foundation and twirling it around once or twice before setting it back down.
voila the drug war is over.
make love not war
the other way to quickly get legalization is to get cannabis re-scheduled.
the procedure is simple, and yes that is an angry thousand pound gorilla.
peace
[Editor’s note: Re-scheduling cannabis in the framework of the Controlled Substances Act is hardly easy. It takes, on average, over 15 years, and huge amounts of research and lawyers to force the DEA into rescheduling a once illegal drug. The current and still pending petition to reschedule cannabis was started in 1998….and is found at http://www.drugscience.org]
One of the main reasons why the DEA Continues Trying To Justify Marijuana Prohibition is simply due to the fact that a vast majority of their arrests come from marijuana and with that being said . The DEA is afraid that if marijuana is legalized and taxed that to the DEA means that they would have to cut back on DEA staff and would loose reasons why to be around. The DEA would still have a job if marijuana was legalized and taxed so why again are they worried? Simply put in this day and age their main busts are simple marijuana in which is a easy bust for the DEA . GOD forbid that the DEA actually do their job and have to work to get other things such as meth , perscription pill dealings and other more dangerous drugs other than wasting time , money as well as violating our rights to name but a few. We know that they are full of it and are running out of reasons to keep marijuana in prohibition . So instead of doing so they should be thinking about the good it can do if legalized and taxed in stead of finding reasons and excuses to keep it illegal and in prohibition. We know that now is our time for our voices to be heard and to make a difference . We need to keep on it till they do what is right and that is simply to legalize and tax marijuana. California got the message and is doing something about it to help out their state now why would not other states follow suit? We need to keep up the fight for legalization and taxation of marijuana.
violent drug crimes.
what do they mean by this did they mean to say “more severe drug crimes.
otherwise how could how could drugs in and of themselves be violent, i mean shooting up i guess is violent
do they mean crimes like stealing and stuff?? if so how can you be so sure that they were motivated by drugs and drugs alone.
i think their use of violence, their choice in words is a bit excessive.
if anything the violence is perpetuated by the same laws that the dea seeks to protect
We need a law that states, “The government must not lie to it’s people. For if any official does, means immediate expulsion from government jobs permanently! That fact sheet was 90% untrue, while the 10% can’t be even determined until it is legalized HERE in America!
I think until the government ends Marijuana prohibition, WE THE PEOPLE can’t fully trust our government. There are so many things that need to be fixed and this is one of them!
editor thanks for your response @ #67
i am aware of the history of re-scheduling and past difficulties.
the prez with his signature can re-sched cannabis by 4/20 and de facto legalize now. bingo bango
justice dept trumps dea easily on paper. justice is far from entirely clueless or powerless.
point is stuff gets re-scheduled often enough. there is a long standing procedure on the books to move drugs efficiently up or down (is my understanding).
we need to FORCE them to legalize. if not now when?
thanks again
[Editor’s note: Unfortunately, 1) an Executive Order can’t be employed to abrogate an act of Congress like the CSA, 2) The DOJ does not support legalization, 3) Only a handful of the 535 members of the US Congress/Senate support legalization and can’t move legislation out of sub-committees (even on the issue of medical cannabis), 4) Obama does not support legalization, and 5) the only drugs that have gone down schedule have been the property of pharmaceutical companies (i.e., Marinol) spending tens of millions lobbying the FDA and state regulators.]
an after thought:
the state of hawaii narcotics enforcement division has the power to re-schedule cannabis at the STATE level.
the state recognizes that cannabis has medicinal value (and it follows therefore)that it is NOT a schedule one narcotic.
the police are thugs and not interested in fairness is the impasse.
[Editor’s note: All states can choose not to adopt the CSA from the Feds…is there any real chance of a state voluntarily opting out of the CSA absent advocates suing, passing amending legislation or passing binding voter initiatives? Unfortunately the answer is no.]
but i’d rather levitate the dea.
Ta Hell with the DEA what the f**k happen to USA
WE THE PEOPLE
ed response @ #71:
not trying to abrogate the vicious csa. again, prez has authority to – re-schedule – cannabis.
re-scheduling is not legalization (tho that would be the most likely outcome soon enough).
doj does what it is told.
yes yes money power and vileness rules. time for a cool change.
[Editor’s note: Again, president does not have the authority under the Executive Order to re-schedule cannabis outright (Executive Orders are pursuant to specific legislative authority) and DOJ needs to be told (according to you) by a supportive president. What a very supportive president can do without something as unlikely as an Executive Order is to allow current decisions at the administrative level (ie, Craker vs. DEA) to move forward unchallenged, to expedite the re-scheduling petition known as Gettman, et al vs DEA and to send DOJ/DEA/ONDCP/FBI personnel up the Hill to testify in favor of reform.]
president who supports such.]
response to ed note @ 72:
is there a chance that we can FORCE the ned here in hawaii to re-schedule cannabis quickly? HELL YES – never a better chance.
sir, you do NOT know hawaii like i know hawaii.
li dat
[Editor’s note: If you know HI well than you that Governor Lingle regularly vetoes even mild medical cannabis law reforms and the legislature can’t pass decrim bills out of subcommittee…chances of an Executive Order in HI is no greater than anywhere else, which is to say, unfortunately, not much.]
FUCK YOU DEA!!!!
I find it strange that the nay sayers only speak of “Smoked Marijuana” as having no medical value. it’s a balance of risk versus benifit. Smoke & mirrors as it were. I vaporize myself. I have a small but persistent problem with nausea & occasional vomiting. If I were to take an antiametic for it I would have to waite for a time before it took affect. If I vap ONE toke it takes affect instantly, and last for about 4hrs. I have, and am using cannabis oil to treat & cure skin cancer. Considering the cost of biopsy, and surgery I have saved about $18,000.00. That is what they are afraid of, the rest is just “Smoke & Mirrors”
The United States Code, under Section 811 of Title 21, sets out a process by which cannabis could be administratively transferred to a less-restrictive category or removed from Controlled Substances Act regulation altogether. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) evaluates petitions to reschedule cannabis. However, the Controlled Substances Act gives the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as successor agency of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, great power over rescheduling decisions.
In 2003 The U.S.A.’s Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. U.S. Patent 6630507.
Puff! 95% of Americans don’t do drugs? Is that why the pharm industry is THE MOST profitable business in America? If that true then why do we need to wage war on only 5% of Americas citizens that costs over 2 billion annually? JACKASSES..evil men!
The DEA will never convince me that hemp is bad. I use it daily, granted eating it is the way it was meant to be used. Only those who are willing to lay down their rights will never question or even educate themselves, will always just do as their told. Hempcould save our country, our bodies, the planet and get us off fossils, only at the cost of corporate profits. Sadly, it probably will never happen. CANNABIS CURES
thanks again for all your informative responses.
as for executive orders that’s outta my league and is overly legalistic and quibbling. who could possibly know what you are talking about with any certainty (including yourself)? field day for the lawyers iz wot.
my intuition is this: obama has the ways and means to git r done should he choose to do so. you agree!?
my garsh, the man has admitted to enjoying some herb upon occasion. i mean all he has to say is the truth: marijuana has proven medicinal value.
otoh it is likely that the military/cop thing is bigger than he is.
another question is how do we de-fang the dea?
do you know about the levitation of the pentagon in 1967 by the yippies?
peace
ed note response hawaii
i have known linda lingle since the ’70’s when she lived on molokai and hadn’t discovered immaculate grooming or pretense. we have had occasion to converse in some emotional situations over the years.
does she knows her way around a joint? molokai in the 70’s …. molokai today ……..
she has been a terrible governor corrupted by the military corporate monolith. we kicked her arse about a year ago over the awful military boondoggle called the superferry. bye bye superferry and gave her the worst public whuppin of her sad career.
~ ~ ~
IF we can FORCE – required by law – the ned to talk with us in an open forum, then we can begin to reverse the momentum.
look up the song herbal criminal by sashamon
Summary of the Top Ten Facts on Legalization
Fact 1: We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.
The legalization of marijuana does not abandon the fight against drugs,only marijuana.
The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is down by more than a third in the last twenty years, while cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent. Ninety-five percent of Americans do not use drugs.
This is success by any standards.
Why,when they are defending the continuation of marijuana prohibition do they use other drugs and the statistics concerned with them and offer no proof of success in the fight against marijuana,because they have no success at stopping marijuana,they can’t even stop it in their prison system.
Fact 2: A balanced approach of prevention, enforcement, and treatment is the key in the fight against drugs.
.A successful drug policy must apply a balanced approach of prevention, enforcement and treatment. All three aspects are crucial. For those who end up hooked on drugs, there are innovative programs, like Drug Treatment Courts, that offer non-violent users the option of seeking treatment. Drug Treatment Courts provide court supervision, unlike voluntary treatment centers.
And their budget request for 2011 reflects little to no change in policy and is far from balanced,because their request for enforcement and imprisonment is much more than their requests for treatment and prevention.
Fact 3: Illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful.
There is a growing misconception that some illegal drugs can be taken safely. For example, savvy drug dealers have learned how to market drugs like Ecstasy to youth. Some in the Legalization Lobby even claim such drugs have medical value, despite the lack of conclusive scientific evidence.
Again,they can only use other drugs and their harm to bolster up their argument and imply harm from marijuana. And there is more scientific evidence that marijuana is a medicine that they ignore,and some of it has come from harm studies they paid for with our tax dollars.
Fact 4: Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science.
According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no future in smoked marijuana as medicine. However, the prescription drug Marinol-a legal and safe version of medical marijuana which isolates the active ingredient of THC-has been studied and approved by the Food & Drug Administration as safe medicine. The difference is that you have to get a prescription for Marinol from a licensed physician. You can’t buy it on a street corner, and you don’t smoke it.
The recently completed studies by CMCR debunks this whole statement and they only partially use the AMA’s position on marijuana,using one line from the AMA’s recommendation and ignoring their request that marijuana be removed from Schedule 1 so that it could be studied more thoutoughly.
Fact 5: Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal.
Again,they use the totals
The Legalization Lobby claims that the United States has wasted billions of dollars in its anti-drug efforts. But for those kids saved from drug addiction, this is hardly wasted dollars. Moreover, our fight against drug abuse and addiction is an ongoing struggle that should be treated like any other social problem. Would we give up on education or poverty simply because we haven’t eliminated all problems? Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction-whether in taxpayer dollars or in pain and suffering-government spending on drug control is minimal.
Again,they use statistics from all drugs to justify their stance on marijuana. And the costs of the prohibition of marijuana ,added to the cost that this agency and the entire bureaucratic empire that feeds from the prohibition trough is not a minamal amount.
Fact 7: Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand.
Crime, violence and drug use go hand in hand. Six times as many homicides are committed by people under the influence of drugs, as by those who are looking for money to buy drugs. Most drug crimes aren’t committed by people trying to pay for drugs; they’re committed by people on drugs.
Where are the statistics of people under the influence of marijuana when they committed the crime?
And 95% of the violence in the US that is involved with marijuana is committed by law enforcement,just doing their jobs.
Fact 8: Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse.
The Legalization Lobby claims drugs are no more dangerous than alcohol. But drunk driving is one of the primary killers of Americans. Do we want our bus drivers, nurses, and airline pilots to be able to take drugs one evening, and operate freely at work the next day? Do we want to add to the destruction by making drugged driving another primary killer?
These people are incapable of telling the truth or sticking to the subject.there are no statistics available to prove that marijuana usage and driving are major factors in accidents on our highways.
Fact 9: Europe’s more liberal drug policies are not the right model for America.
The Legalization Lobby claims that the “European Model” of the drug problem is successful. However, since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled. And Needle Park seems like a poor model for America.
Again,we don’t inject marijuana nor do we use heroin to scare America into keeping marijuana illegal. Only an agency whose budget is justified by marijuana remaining illega would skew statistics and muddy the water with other problems that are not present or caused by marijuana.
Fact 10: Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not jail time.
The Legalization Lobby claims that America’s prisons are filling up with users. Truth is, only about 5 percent of inmates in federal prison are there because of simple possession. Most drug criminals are in jail-even on possession charges-because they have plea-bargained down from major trafficking offenses or more violent drug crimes.
This is a lie. And the federal prison system is not the only prison system in America.
The problem here is a bigger picture than just cannabis reform. It’s about giving people back their rights and liberties. This is something no govt wants to do since they work so hard to take it away.
People these days are brainwashed into believing that power comes from the govt as do our liberties (eg ‘You’re now allowed to grow 3 cannabis plants for personal use’), instead of the way it was rightfully meant to be which is the govt’s power comes from the People, and that power is only what the People specifically grant (eg ‘We the People feel that cannabis is right for us, you enforce existing laws that protect People from one another and leave situations where there is no victim alone’).
So, we’re fighting for more than just cannabis reform, we’re actually fighting to have our rights and liberties as they pertain to our bodies restored.
I posted this before, but it still applies. I watched during the great health care debates, a GOP congressman (IA – Stevens) rant on and on about how our bodies were given from God and how does the govt have the right to legislate what we do with our bodies, etc etc.. so I went and checked his position on cannabis and of course he is against legalization. How can the man stand there ranting about our bodies being our own, and at the same time be against us exercising our liberties to do what we want with our body?
They’re not afraid of legalizing MJ. They’re afraid of the affects MJ will have on the population. Alcohol is OK because it whips up an emotional state that can be used to invoke fear, rage, or any other manipulative state that is desired. That can’t be done with MJ because the affects are opposite to that of alcohol. It makes people happy, laugh, be friendly, etc. How can the govt control through manipulation and ‘us vs them’ mentalities a population who would be laid back and willing to help one another, laugh and enjoy life?
Some of this thought process can be seen when you read the transcripts of Nixon’s oval office… he doesn’t come right out and say the above but I think you can infer the fear being there while reading what he is saying about cannabis..
It’s a CONTROL ISSUE. They don’t want to give up control of our bodies, minds, and emotions.
When is anyone from the DEA going to stand and have an open, honest, public debate with NORML, MPP, or even LEAP? I and 30 million pot smokers want this,NOW. I am not a scientist or a cop but I can argue and disproove 9 out of the ten DEA facts myself. I say keep meth, coke, chieva and other hard drugs against the law and have a bounty on their dealers but FREE the WEED.
95% don’t use drugs? This statement does not pass the common sense test.
If this WERE true, then they stick their foot in their mouths, due to the fact that the latest polls now show that over 50% of the US populace wants cannabis regulated and taxed. I mean…a majority want legalization, when only 5% of our population smokes weed? That right there is a detriment to their tyrannical cause. (Give a gov’t agency enough rope…)
Now if they would have said illegal drugs, then yeah, I could see that. But they obviously and conveniently “forgot” to mention prescriptions, tobacco, alcohol, and fumes from all the paint and gas people inhale for a legal high.
These facts ARE awful and obviously ignorant of certain truths. Now, I don’t know if intentional, but I hope it’s not because they just didn’t think about it. Ferserious. Needle parks don’t exist anymore, but as i hear they DID work incredibly well. No junky wants to mess with a good thing. It was just kind of what you may call an eye sore. Understandable, but there’s always the option of oh, i don’t know…looking away.
I just don’t want to see herion in this argument and so telling of the kind of mind that publishes this crap to say “It didn’t work for heroin, why should it work for marijuana?”
Juvenile…pathetic. Moving on.
And on violence/crime related to the ganja?
Well…legalize it and see how many thugs we have to run with to get our stuff.
This’ll change. They’ll hate you or they’ll praise you. Like the rising sun this won’t be stopped. Might not be now, might not be november, but this’ll change.
moving on
ps.
I think in Holland they legalized ALL drugs when they legalized MJ. So umm…well I mean…yeah.
Like, personal possession of any drug is cool there. I think that’s the whole of the law. This list wants you to think it’s the pot that tripled heroin use, but I’d venture to say that maybe it was the legalization of heroin use that did it.
just a thought
then alcohol needs to be illegal. That’s fair. Alcohol is bad stuff dudes and kills a lot of people all over the world.
time and time again the dea has proven to be beyond the law.
MAKE ME is their attitude.
cannabis legalization needs to be spearhead of the personal freedom movement.
pursue your happiness.
Definition: Ludicrous, adj. ridiculous.
I saw an television interview on MSNBC with the Director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, the Drug Czar, Mr. Gil Kerlikowske. On the subject of State governments getting revenue from marijuana sales, he claimed the idea was ludicrous. The host said to Mr. Kerlikowske, “ Shouldn’t we just try to figure how to get a cut of the money exchanged ( from marijuana sales).” Mr. Kerlikowske replied, “”Well, the debate would make very little sense for a whole lot of reasons. First the Rand Corporation took a hard look at what California said they could actually tax and make on this and they have huge questions and find that foundation weak. For instance alcohol, we get about a dollar in taxes and spend about eight dollars in social and healthcare and criminal justice costs. To think that we would make money or someone would make money is ludicrous.”
I almost do not know where to begin! Taken as they are Mr. Kerlikowske’s comments are as clear as mud. What Rand Corporation study? California’s legislators and economists estimate 1.4 billion dollars in revenue yearly. I find it hard to believe California’s experts could be 100% wrong in their estimates. Mr. Kerlikowske goes on to cite the social costs of alcohol. That would be relevant if we were talking about alcohol, but we weren’t, we were talking about marijuana. A drug that results in zero overdose deaths per year. A drug that despite 14 years of medical marijuana in California has resulted in no increase in domestic violence or traffic accidents. As far as criminal justice costs, there will be none with legalization.
I have to agree with what Mr. Kerlikowske said in the beginning of the interview about the debate on making revenue off marijuana sales to be one that makes little sense. The way I see it Mr. Kerlikowske’s comments on the debate and the whole issue of marijuana are what make little sense. I realize the Drug Czar has a hard job. Being required to say things about something that you know not to be true is always difficult.
Were it not that the Drug Czar is required to lie, by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, about any drug that is listed as schedule 1, as marijuana is, we might be able to believe what he says but as it is now , everything he says on the subject is circumspect.
The Federal Government’s position on marijuana and the lengths it is willing to go to keep up the charade of marijuana prohibition is what is truly ludicrous!
Allen How is it possible to stand before any judge in the land and they cannot see the truth and realize the crime is the law. why must the people pay for the crime they commit? Hemp is our green economy and a vital health care resigme for all human life. I mean come on We have tens of thousands of bodies of proof and they have 0. SHOW ME A BODY
Glenn Beck finally said he got this from Gandi Find your anvil of truth and beat it with a hammer of non violence. Hemp is such an anvil and the people that believe and know the truth are a hammer of non violence.
When Kerli speaks about marijuana and legalization,is it that he is doing his job or protecting his bowl of rice?
When your bureaucratic agency uses marijuana as justification for over 70% of its budget,how do you get congress to give you your budget if it is legalized and removed from your basket?
The amazing thing about the DEA paper,it only mentions marijuana by name 3 times in the whole document but infers that damage and harm caused by other drugs is marijuana’s fault 7 or 8 times.
This issue should be linked to the health care bill in the framework of ‘personal liberties’ for those protesting the govt trying to ‘force’ people to buy health care. The are up in arms about protecting our health (supposedly) by keeping cannabis illegal, yet they don’t want to provide health care? How do you support a hypocritical stance like that. Also, how about all the politicians who use the excuse of ‘our bodies are our own’ to fight the health care issue. We should target all of those who are using these types of arguments to point out their hypocrisy while they are trying to play games with votes and constituents.
The great health care debate, the comments that were made, etc are great ammunition to use as a personal liberty stance for legalization. If our bodies are truly our own, and the govt shouldn’t be legislating health care, then it should also not be legislating what we can put into them!
The angle being used right now will never work since it is trying to use scientific evidence to fight the ‘reefer madness’ propaganda that has been around for 60+ years. We need to fight for our personal rights of our bodies much like woman have done for abortion. Having the comments from all the health care arguments is like them handing us ammunition to use against them. Their own words!
Go do some research on your local politicians see what they have said about this whole thing and if there are comments that could be used. Come back here and post them if so.. (homework lol)..
#91 – Words
That’s a huge misconception about the Netherlands. Drugs, including cannabis, are still quite illegal. However, the gov’t there has broken drugs down to two catagories – hard and soft. The soft drugs are looked at as no big deal, but harder drugs are stigmatized. Up until recently, shrooms were placed in the soft drugs catagory with pot – now only MJ is listed as a soft drug. Their policy on cannabis is – grow it if you like, smoke it in the cafes if you wish, so long as you are not either selling it or causing a nuisance. Go there, and you will see people smoking a joint on the corner or on a park bench with cops walking by not giving a second look (or a care, for that matter). But you see no one snorting coke or shooting heroin. In fact, when I visited with my wife and her mom, this guy lit up a fatty right next to my M.I.L. She got one helluva contact buzz, and was starving by the time diinner rolled around. She’s all anti-pot, too, so that made it all that much more intertaining.
I want to know how the hell they measure drug use across America? I mean most people keep their drug use private and tend not to tell many other people unless they are also marijuana smokers as well. I want to see where the DEA got their information and if it is even a reputable source.