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.
worse than ludicrous
vicious and evil
In comes the new BOSS and same as the OLD BOSS.
Same lies, different day. How long can they keep up this campaign of ignorance and obfuscation?
i smell BULLSHIT
those lying f**ks have helped deal drugs, the CIA too
#92 Fort Worth, Tx Says:
April 6th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
“then alcohol needs to be illegal….”
@#92:
That was tried once already,
but I know what you’re saying…
Pot needs to be LESS ILLEGAL than alcohol 😉
All L.E. efforts to suppress cannabis end up
driving people towards the more-dangerous,
(yet, ironically legal), booze…!!!
The irony is that they associate the word “Justice” with their name…
The issue here is one of personal liberty in my opinion. If the govt can’t mandate we buy health care, then the govt shouldn’t be able to mandate we can’t put cannabis in our bodies. What RIGHT do they have to tell us what we can do with our bodies no matter how ‘dangerous’ they want to tell us it is?? They are purporting to have power over our BODIES…! It has nothing to do with anything else in my opinion. A woman can have an abortion, but we can’t smoke marijuana?? WTF is up with that?? Why haven’t these angles of attack been used yet?? What gives the govt ANY right to supposedly protect us from ‘ourselves’? Do we all need to be put into an asylum to protect us?? WTF that argument is so old and ridiculous it’s stupid. If they really wanted to protect ‘kids’ (their other argument) then alcohol would be illegal, but this argument doesn’t fly in the face of dictating what we can do with our BODIES and personal LIBERTY!! It’s friggin UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
I think marijuana should be legalized. The DEA are morons and they should be worried about more hardcore drugs for example crack, meth and heroin!!!!!
#97 claygooding Says:
April 7th, 2010 at 8:22 am
“…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.”
RE: #97
What the DEA is doing there is known as conflation,
false-attribution through vague-association with other things more harmful…
– This was how cannabis was made illegal in the first place.
Less than 5 years following the repeal of Prohibition 1.0,
the worst-case effects of alcohol-intoxication were being falsely-attributed to cannabis,
and voila, “Reefer Madness”…
I love how fact five basically says, ‘if you legalize marijuana you won’t have to pay taxes for criminal processing OR the DEA!’ If prohibition is repealed then a large branch of the government won’t have any reason to exist.
Okay, so I must say that I have been very disappointed in our government over the past few years, and the lies that do not stop. We have been lied to since th 1930’s about what cannabis does to us, we are lied to about how dangerous drugs in general are. I for one and sick of the lies that our own government tells us, it’s not right to lie and use false justification, it makes us look bad as a nation.
The D.E.A really needs to get their facts straight. Ive conducted a little scientific experiment of my own, the results will never become public knowledge because I lack the funding and the sponsorship. I personally smoked pot all day everyday for 6 years and wanted to record the negative effects. 3 years smoking bad quality mexican dirt weed, 2 1/2 years smoking commercial nugget, or what the cops refer to as B.C Bud. And 6 months smoking california’s most potent medicinal marijuana. All day, everyday. These are the facts, and im afraid the world is light years behind. (1 Yes, I hate to admit it but marijuana can be harmful to ones health both physical and mental.
2)The negative effects seem to very from user to user with a great majority of users experiencing none at all!
3)Marijuana when used under certain circumstances IS ADDICTING and kicking the habbit can be nearly impossible.
4) Marijuana policies wreak more havock on users then the drug itself ever could.
5) All laws aside, Marijuana use can be a blessing or a curse depending on the mindset of the user.
6) Marijuana DOES have medicinal value and in it’s natural form, IS safer then any other drug on the market, legal or not.
7)Marijuana was meant to be EATEN not smoked.
8) Smoking marijuana constantly wether you smoke tobacco or not CAN and most likely will cause lung cancer.
9) Attempting to separate the THC from the plant for medicinal use in the form of a pill is a bad idea. Ingesting the pill constantly is like playing russian roulette with your brain. Best to stick to the plant itself.
10) Marijuana withdrawl is REAl. It happens after the user has smoked for several days straight and then quits right away. The effects of this withdrawl are quite mild, but are not pleasant none the less.
11) Marijuana is safer then alcohol and should be legal and regulated like alcohol. This is certainly not the drug you want your kids to be able to obtain. As fact #12 is a doozy.
12) Marijuana consumption under the age of 18 is a life disaster waiting to happen. Under no circumstances should any kids indulge in this drug. There is no reason for me to believe that occasional adult use is harmful.
13) The pro’s far outweigh the cons, and when used responsibly, marijuana can be quite healthy for the mind, body and soul.
14) We should welcome marijuana into our society with open arms but frown on addiction because contrary to popular belief- Too much Marijuana can be a bad thing.
Sorry factsstraight you need to get yours straight.
First, there has not been a single incidence of lung cancer attributed to cannabis use. If there was it would have been dragged all over every DEA report as causing lung cancer. The reason cigarettes cause cancer is not because you are smoking tobacco, but because of the fertilizer used to grow the crops. The fertilizer has low levels of radioactive components (polonium I believe) that slowly poison and destroy your lungs and other organs. This is the same thing that was given to that russian spy who died a few years ago from radiation poisoning.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/01/opinion/01proctor.html
Addiction is a personality ‘disorder’ unless something is physically addicting which cannabis is NOT. Habit forming yes, physically addicting NO. If you have even a slightly addictive personality it can become a problem but this is where ‘responsible’ use comes into play.
I’m not even sure what you’re talking about in #9. Marinol? It doesn’t make sense whatever you’re saying.
Same with #7, where are you getting your information? I’m for vaporizers myself but where is your source for this information?
Many of your other statements I agree with, but the ones I listed above aren’t correct or don’t have scientific backup to be used as an argument. Kind of like the DEA’s comments.
You can’t fight bullshit with bullshit or personal experience. You can only fight it with scientific evidence.
However, this whole argument is not about how healthy it is for you, it’s about whether or not you truly control your own body and have the right to do with it as you will. WHO gave the govt the power to control what you put into your body? WHY can you put alcohol / prescription drugs and not cannabis? WHY aren’t other harmful chemicals banned such as saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup, and many preservatives illegal?
The war on drugs is a war on our rights to our own bodies. That’s the bottom line, any other argument is going around this issue. Women have fought this fight for decades (abortion) and are probably used to fighting for the rights of their bodies. We on the other hand haven’t even scratched this area (males) from what I can see.
So factsstraight, what kind of tests have you done to verify your results? I’m not calling you a liar or saying anything negative about your research, it’s just that we need to have concrete evidence to get people moving forward. Anecdotal research will only hinder us in the legal avenues necessary for reform. As much as I hate to say it, the will of the people alone is simply not enough in these times. We need hard facts, coupled with open-minded politicians and a lot of money to change the current laws. Any chink in the armor of our arguments will be our downfall.
Why is the D.E.A. justifying the war on Cannabis, shouldn’t that be the responsibility of our legislators to further provide reasons for the continued war??? The DEA is responsible for enforcing the law, not to pursue a political agenda…
#113
hey fun scientific research project.
i know many people over sixty who have been tokin almost every day for forty + years
keep those cannabinoid receptors firing
GOD BLESS AMERICA; HOME SWEAT HOME, LAND THAT I LOVE, STAND BESIDE HER AND GUIDE HER, WITH THE LIGHT FROM THE LIGHT FROM ABOVE. We are “Free American Genesists,” and we believe in God and country. We believe in liberty and justice for all, and we intend to keep it that way. Anybody got a problem with that?
We are vehemently opposed to the prohibition of our Holy Sacrament – but – we rcognize that the antidote to this abuse of formal government is [the influence of private character and the growth of the individual]. The private mind has access to the totality of goodness and truth, that it may be a balance to a corrupt government.
The office of America is to liberate, to abolish kingcraft, caste, monopoly, to pull down the gallows, to burn the bloody statute book, to take the imigrant, to open the doors of the sea and the fields of the earth.
Here we stand! in the middle of this Garden of Eden we call America, with our feet planted firmly smack dab flat on free ground. We hold heaven in one hand and hell in the other. Only our action can justify our beliefs. It’s not what comes [to] us in life, it’s what comes [from] us. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. Logos Nous is a badge of servitude to God’s spirit “within.” Sacro sanct: all power comes from God. The human spirit is more powerful that the strongest drug. The human spirit survives itself. Hell is a place where there is [no] hope. Whoever [is] selling us hope [is] beguiling us…again!
“When the people fear the government, there’s tyranny. When the government fears ther people, there’s liberty.” Thomas Jefferson.
VOTE VOTE VOTE COME NOVEMBER remember who opposes medical marijuana and replace them. e-mail your reps and let them know you will fire them. we can not just sit back and let someone else do it we need to get registered to VOTE. it’s our right use it.
in response to truth2freedom:
from the webMD web site
“May 23, 2006 — People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.
While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.”
So, no smoking pot does not actually equate to lung cancer. In fact this study, and other studies, has found that the active “ingredient” in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, has been shown to reduce the size of tumors.
“Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.”
Now, neither I, nor the doctors who performed this study, would suggest that you smoke to help prevent, nor cure cancer. I say this because the rapid oxidation of any carbon rich chemical, i.e. burning, will cause the release of carcinogens.
This same study also finds that it does in-fact have medicinal properties. Other studies have found many other medicinal uses for the substance. The problem is most of these have been performed outside of the US due to the strict controls imposed by our government. Judging by the information coming in from other countries I believe a great number of uses could be shown for this “product.” The last I knew you couldn’t get permission to do chemical analysis here in the states, from the feds anyway.
A damning indictment:
Walters, McCaffrey, et al., need to experience the same types of slow,
agonizing debilitation from the same types of illnesses worse-case medi-cann patients endure;
for which these so-called “drug-warriors” fail to show compassion towards,
by interfering with their choice of remedy…
A plant which has been utilized safely for over 5 millennia…
re: #48 Stevo
You bring up good points .marijuana has never killed anybody. The change of an alcoholic dyeing form alcohol abuse is way higher. The problem is people have most likely seen a alcoholic firsthand and sadly are amuned to them. a lot of people who don’t personally know the side effect or know anyone who does only has a understanding of it from the media witch play it out to be 10times worse . We need to educate people on the side effect and maybe then more sates will change there laws.
I’m surprised the DEA don’t release a remake of the propaganda film “REEFER MADNESS” The original made many ludicrious insinuations including one drag of a marijuana cigarette {called a reefer by drug fiends}can cause madness.How they can say drug control spending is a minor portion of government budget is beyond me maybe they aren’t including the money pumped into keeping drugs illegal by tobacco alcohol and pharmacutical intrests.The people who believe the DEA claims are no doubt the same who believe the CIA were justified and right to find themselves innocent of the charges of drug trafficking /handling brought about through the Freeway Ricky Ross setup and Gary Webbs facinating book “Dark Alliance” The then Director of the CIA (may still be)even had a veteran DEA agent reveal that he had documental proof of and personal experiances of ,naming 3,CIA operations bringing plane loads of cocaine into America.The documentary film “Americas War On Drugs (the last white hope)is a must see for anyone who believes drugs are illegal because the law makers want to protect us from the dangers of drugs It is a very informative eye opener that gives us a glimpse of how we are and have been hoodwinked by the propaganda machine on what is and has happened since Nixon declared WAR ON DRUGS and for me it explained valid reasons on why marijuana especially is illegal. REMEMBER FOLKS MARIJUANA WILL GET YOU THROUGH TIMES OF NO MONEY BETTER THAN MONEY WILL GET YOU THROUGH TIMES OF NO MARIJUANA. Plus before i go this is one of my favourite quotes “JAIL FOR GROWING A PLANT” the gypsie laughed and one question “IF WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE CANNABIS THEN WHY ON EARTH DO WE HAVE CANNABOID RECEPTORS?”
The DEA is totally wrong about what they are trying to pursue with the public. They don’t have enough information to vote on this issue. The DEA should give the people voting more information about what they are trying to keep illegal. It says that marijuana is a schedule one narcotic but it really isn’t because it has never hurt or killed anyone. Also, fact number 8 says “Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse” this statement is so biased and untrue it really makes me laugh. They can’t even compare marijuana and alcohol because it’s two totally different drugs. As for fact number six, marijuana is not an addicting drug like heroin, and cocaine because you can’t withdraw from it and it is not harmful like other drugs. This list of facts is all opinions and the DEA should show proof of this when they are this serious about keeping it legal.
we dont care what the fda “approves” as in the past people have died by their advice/approval. We as citizens want the medicine we have chosen as given to us by god. So stand with us or be voted out. Its time for more formal approach to this culture war. The berlin wall fell and so shall these herb laws. What if chiles were made illegal…..exactly and we put people in jail for having too many chiles. Well you could get sick from to many chiles but you count never ingest enough to do your body that same harm with marijuana so how the fuck has this law stood for so long.
WE THE PEOPLE MUST LOBBY HARDER THAN ALL OF THE INTeREST(S) who have kept us from making the change and destroyed so many lives.
HArd drugs are bad but not as damaging as the laws created to discourage their use, and i think most people know by now Pot is no more a drug than ginseng is. So stand the fuck up people!!!!!!
dea knows where its headed beer and pot will be the same soon and I cant believe they would want to stop it, the people they see involved with major drugs are far more criminal than any marijuana user, so why wouldnt they want to focus on the major problems in which the agency was created for. Drugs that actually harm and hurt rather than heal and relax the user.
This bullshit must end in our lifetime
Let’s all just get a grip on the PC BS here.
If Marijuana had been discovered in an Amazonian rain forest, Oprah would
be doing weekly specials on it. Loudly proclaiming each facet of it’s
miraculous ability to relieve suffering.
But no, the owner of a news paper chain (Hurst) had to abuse his position
of influence and distribute propaganda demonizing not only one of the
worlds safest medicinally active substances but a whole nationality as
well. The worst part is that it was probably all because he felt his
manhood threatened after catching his wife smoking a joint with their
Mexican gardener one afternoon.
Marijuana prohibition is Wrong for the same reason Alcohol prohibition was
Wrong. “You should not try to enforce your moral views on others”. Wait,
I know, I know, you’re just trying to help someone avoid what you see as a
bad decision. Let’s flip the original statement around for a second, so
you can get a better feel for it’s True meaning. “You should not try to
enforce your moral views on me”. Exactly the same statement, just from the
other end of the finger.
Think about that for a full minute, read it again, so you hear it in your
own inner voice, I’ll wait, it’s worth it.
Think about it, honestly, what if You (as in someone with prohibitionist
leanings, ;)) learned that a particular plant, one that you could easily
grow in your own garden, would relieve many of the side effects caused by
the chemicals proscribed by doctors? A plant, so safe, that a person
couldn’t physically consume enough of it to cause an overdose if they
tried (now contrast that with the safety of the proscribed chemicals).
Would You HONESTLY, feel that it was “in Your best interest” to have
another group take that option away from you or someone you love? Are You,
(said prohibitionist You ;)) actually OK with watching someone suffer
needlessly when all it would take from You to relieve it would be to just
step out of the way? No actual work mind you, not one thin dime. Simply
stop denying your neighbors their Right to decide something for
themselves, that in all reality, has no measurable affect on your quality
of life, but can make all the difference in the world to theirs.
Prohibition has been tried many times throughout history and failed
miserably on every occasion. Ruling governments typically take fairly
predictable paths; eventually they admit the costs (political, budgetary,
social)(yes the order is intentional) are unsustainable, prohibition is
repealed, and the Government and The People move forward working together
(as originally intended!), or, the Government moves “progressively”
(beware of that word!) to take increasingly “protective” positions, The
People decide “enough is enough” and they replace said government.
We The People, and most especially our Government, are at a pivotal moment
in our nation’s history. We The People could continue abdicating our
responsibilities, the way the States have, and allow the Federal
Government to decide what’s best for Us, or, We The People, can decide to
accept the responsibilities The Framers of Our Constitution intended Us to
have and return Our Government to it’s Original purpose. That’s the thing
about Responsibilities and Rights, they’re a package deal. Deny the
former, you forfeit the later.
Remember, our Government requires Us to accept responsibility for
controlling It. The price for failure is Our government controlling Us.
hmm well thats why its been proven in Holland they are harder on cocaine and heroin users but allow ORGANIC substances legal, and they have a lower arrest and crime rate. Greast stats DEA where’s your proof? oh yea you have none
I don’t see why so many NORML supporters favor the taxation and regulation. It really is shocking. There is NO REASON why something that could grow naturally and be legally limited to P2P transactions (no merchants!) should be taxed at all. The government has too much money already, and provides NO USEFUL GOODS OR SERVICES for what they’re paid. The DEA itself surely furnishes some of the most monsterous evidence of this fact. To accept the idea of taxation on weed is to consent to further parasitism by a bloated worm which has gorged itself on blood and innocence for too long already. NO ONE WHO SUPPORTS UNJUSTIFIED TAXATION IS MODERATE.
[Editor’s note: Realistic reformers recognize that cannabis, like alcohol, tobacco and caffeine products, is going to be taxed if legal. Cannabis growers and consumers who don’t want to pay taxes on cannabis can grow their own, but it is totally unrealistic–both politically and economically–to believe that cannabis sold at the retail level is not taxable.]
Legalization means, primarily, that a person is free to grow what he, his family and friends want to enjoy — some biiiig phat righteous buds.
Under those circumstances prices and taxes aren’t a factor. Capitalism can p!$$ off too.
Some city people would rather just pay but supply/demand will rule the price.
taxes yeah sure.
How about we follow the fallacy that engaging in activities that are potentially unhealthy warrents prison and coercive rehabilitation….Fat people belong in prison and so does most of the people in the food industry as well as all the people farmers who grow it. You see, all of these activities are causing a huge increase in heart disease which we all know is a leading cause of death.
Everyone who does not conform to some authorities definition of a healthy life belongs in prison. They deserve to suffer 10 fold what their own acts cause in themselves.
Excellent. I will stand on the post and make my self the king of all since I know what is best for you.
Eat it and suffer my wrath you fat pigs.
The DEA is an organized harassment and bullying campaign perpetrated by the government—bought and paid for with tax dollars. It’s a government agency whose mission is to ruin people’s lives.
From March to September 2010, I was the object of a surveillance / spying / discrimination / organized harassment / sexual harassment campaign—including invasion of privacy, breaking and entering, bugging my apartment, viewing, observation, spying, surveillance, voyeuring, and gawking—also pro-active harassment, haranguing, heckling, hounding, taunting, pestering, tormenting, sleep deprivation, tampering, stealing, bullying and terrorizing—and attempted brainwashing. I don’t know if it was approved by a judge under false pretenses.
Here’s what was said (through the wall of my living room—and out the windows and doors of other units, and outside in the parking lot): While in my bed in my apartment—“He’s fucking himself” (hundreds of times). “That mother-fucker is fucking himself.” “That mother-fucker is fucked-up” (hundreds of times). “That cocksucker—” (hundreds of times). “Look—he’s rock-hard.” “He’s hard as a rock—look” (hundreds of times). “He’s gonna cum!—look!” “He’s gonna shoot the wad!—look!” “Look—he’s cumming!” “Look—he’s cumming—right now!—out in public!” (hundreds of times). “Look—he’s cumming—right now!—out in public!—while smoking a cigarette!” There were numerous, frequent comments on my urinating, defecating, showering, shaving and grooming habits—in the bathroom. The harassers used various types of equipment and gizmos—some type of high-tech infrared or “see-through-the-wall” camera recording equipment, ultrasound, or “bugs,” to view me and amplify the “sound” of my heartbeat. They ramped-up the amperage and volume of my heartbeat to titillate, broadcast, and show me off to the invited parties of visitors frequently during the daytime, also every night.
I was employed aa a University professor for 22 years, and was a resident of that rented condominium unit for 17 years. My landlady, a member of the condo board, told me repeatedly that she had never received a complaint about me or noise emanating from my apartment. When I asked him if I made any noises that bothered him, my neighbor immediately downstairs responded no, that I was “quiet as a mouse.” Whatever I was doing in my apartment, I was minding my own business, I wasn’t breaking any laws, I wasn’t making any noises, and I wasn’t bothering anyone.
In the privacy of my own home, I was viewed, all-night-long, every-night–like a wild animal on display in a cage at the zoo–by possibly 200, 300, 400, or 800 persons, or maybe even more, viewing me in my bed—my neighbors, friends and family members of the harassers (unit B-202, “kitty-corner” next-door downstairs), their acquaintances and invitees, coworkers and colleagues of mine at my workplace, and total strangers. I recognized the voices of many colleagues I worked with for more than 20 years. There are plenty of witnesses.
Disparaging comments and inappropriate judgements were made whenever I was reading the newspaper or the mail, or writing, when I was preparing food, eating, washing the dishes, urinating, defecating, flatulating, burping, smoking, showering, shaving, relaxing, taking a nap, getting an erection, sleeping, or trying to sleep—also constant negative, derogatory, derisive comments and criticisms on my build, physique, weight, age, diet, dress, grooming, looks and appearance.
Yes, I am old, alone, lonely, skinny, underweight, depressed and horny—and have ailments and physical problems expected in a senior citizen—but I’m not crazy, not a criminal, not a psycho, not a sex pervert, not a child molester, not a drunk, and not a drug addict. I have no criminal record.
In contrast to what they were claiming, I was not in possession of and not using any illegal street drugs, not abusing prescription drugs, not abusing over-the-counter medications, not abusing lawful vitamins and herbal nutrition supplements, and not abusing parsley. Such claims were total, slanderous fabrications.
Well, OK–so I happen to like parsley and do eat a lot of it. On that remote island, where much of the produce in the supermarkets is limp, wilted, inedible, or outright rotten–not to mention vastly overpriced–fresh parsley was one of the few greens available that I could count on sometimes. What’s wrong with eating a salad comprising mostly parsley?–when that’s all that’s available? How is this the business of the neighbors—or of the government? Is this probable cause for surveillance or allegations of abuse?
To the contrary, they were breaking and entering, tampering with and stealing my lawful prescription medications, tampering with and stealing my over-the-counter medications, adulterating and stealing my vitamins and lawful herbal nutrition supplements, tampering with and adulterating my foods, and tampering with my cigarettes and cigarette lighter—and suggesting repeatedly that I commit suicide. They also suggested that I might get hit, injured or killed “accidentally” in a hit-and-run.
The government harassers further violated my privacy by putting their viewing / recording of my every move up on a WiFi network or LAN—so that everyone could follow along on their cellphones, laptops—and maybe on some internet site—and join in the slander, defamation, harassment, haranguing, tormenting and taunting every time I made a move in my apartment, or turned over in my bed, got an erection, showered, shaved, or tried to urinate in front of an audience, went outside the door of my unit for a smoke, or walked down to my car.
Later on groups spied on me remotely over the WiFi connection in other condo units. From mainly “kitty-corner” next-door downstairs in B-202, the harassers / haranguers / viewers / gawkers expanded and intensified their spying / surveillance / slander / public defamation operations via the WiFi connection to other units, including but not necessarily limited to B-112, B-113 and B-115, across the quadrangle, so that more people and larger groups could be accommodated, including professors, administrators, and various other officials, elected and appointed, who could then view me anonymously–like an animal on exhibit in a cage at the zoo–without my hearing them and recognizing their voices. However, I did observe them coming-and-going.
Turning an official, secret government surveillance operation into a fun community party / public event for all the neighbors, coworkers and relatives, and even total strangers, with coolers of beer, barbequed ribs, takeout pizzas, and bring-your-own-chairs, and then putting my every private move inside my apartment, and every erection in my bed, urination in my bathroom, defecation, showering, etc., up on a WiFi network to entertain, sensationalize and titillate crowds–for everyone on two islands to gawk at, bully me, and harass me about, definitely constitutes official government malfeasance, misconduct and wrongdoing by employees on-the-job and on-the-clock of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, encouraged by and together with high-level administrators and officials of the island government and the island university, in collusion. There are plenty of witnesses. Just because an elected or appointed government official says it’s OK to do something doesn’t mean that is OK to do so–officials frequently abuse the law and exceed their authority–and the means do not justify the ends. Respect and due process rights must be accorded, even on island territories. What they did was worse than anything I have ever done. I never bothered or hurt anyone.
Then, I quit my job, vacated my apartment quickly, gave away all my furniture, appliances, and clothing, threw out a lot of property, and got outta that island in a hurry—because my life, freedom and sanity are more important than any job, apartment or residency.
*****
It’s a personal and political vendetta of harassment, bullying and revenge by some government employees—bought and paid for with tax dollars.
From Dec. 2010 to Jan. 2011 and continuing to the present—This “psy-ops” or “black-ops” spying-and-harassment campaign started out in my condo-apartment on an island, followed me to two hotels in Thailand, returned to continue pursuing me on that island until I fled, and now they’re continuing to harass me in my new co-op in retirement in Mich. With plausible deniability all-around, some VIPs on that island want me arrested, institutionalized or hospitalized, incapacitated or dead, and to cut off and save my retirement annuity, which, though reduced for life, I earned and merit.
These guys don’t want me to have a happy life in retirement. They want me dead. This is nothing more-or-less than a personal, political vendetta, a conspiracy agenda of revenge by a couple of twisted control-freak sadists from that island of untimely, obsolete, improper, misleading and grossly exaggerated or false trumped-up allegations—outright falsehoods—plus improprietary and grossly prejudicial ex parte communications, and communication attempts, to fry me in advance of any arrest, charge or appearance. What they have done and are doing are criminal acts!
Breaking and entering repeatedly, and repeatedly tampering with, adulterating and stealing my lawful prescription medications is illegal. Adulterating and tampering with my legal vitamins and herbal nutrition supplements and foods are wrong. Continuously threatening, harassing, haranguing and brainwashing me are criminal actions. If continuously hijacking and tampering with my gmail and facebook accounts isn’t a crime, it ought to be.
Using prescription drugs prescribed by my doctor, consuming vitamins and legal herbal nutrition supplements, eating parsley, having tattoos, and fucking myself, are not crimes. I can fuck myself all I want. I didn’t hurt anybody.
I departed from that island over there freely and voluntarily and have been in Michigan for more than 100 days now. I have gained about 30 pounds and am back to my normal adult weight. I am trying to transition to retirement mode–but this goal may no longer be possible for me.
It originated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration guy on that island, together with high-level administrators and officials of the island government and university. That guy is now joined by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents out of the Detroit office. Respect and due process rights must be accorded in Michigan.
I guess the latest plan is to kidnap me, take away my clothes, and put me on ice to chill out–or “forget” that I got left out in the unheated van outdoors for hours in sub-freezing weather. No doubt that would do a number on my heart. An alternative scenario is to lock me up in a cage with some animals, where I would be mugged, assaulted, maimed or murdered. Bought and paid for with tax dollars.
Since I won’t be allowed any phone calls or legal representation, or any pretenses of due process of any sort, no family members will know of my whereabouts until after I’m already dead. Later on, they’ll call it an unfortunate accident or a terrible misunderstanding.
I am a 60-year-old retired senior citizen with various physical ailments, aches and pains. They should leave me alone. Doesn’t the DEA have bigger fish to fry?
If the DEA, aided and abetted by the island university and government, can’t arrest me for cause, I guess the next-best-thing is to ruin my retirement via a circus of innuendo, slander and defamation of character and reputation, and ridicule and humiliate me with my family members, friends and my housing management.