[Editor’s note: This post is excerpted from this week’s forthcoming NORML weekly media advisory. To have NORML’s media alerts and legislative advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up here. To watch NORML’s weekly video summary of the week’s top stories, click here.]
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued its final order rejecting a ruling from the agency’s own Administrative Law Judge finding that it would be ‘in the public interest’ to grant the University of Massachusetts a license to grow marijuana for federally regulated research.
The rejection preserves the monopoly held by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on the supply of marijuana for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated research. In 2010, a spokesperson for the agency told the New York Times, “We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana.”
In 2007, after extensive hearings, DEA Judge Mary Ellen Bittner opined in favor of allowing a researcher at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst legal permission to cultivate marijuana for use in FDA-approved clinical trials.
She determined: “I conclude that granting Respondent’s application would not be inconsistent with the Single Convention, that there would be minimal risk of diversion of marijuana resulting from Respondent’s registration, that there is currently an inadequate supply of marijuana available for research purposes, that competition in the provision of marijuana for such purposes is inadequate, and that Respondent has complied with applicable laws and has never been convicted of any violation of any law pertaining to controlled substances. I therefore find that Respondent’s registration to cultivate marijuana would be in the public interest.”
DEA director Michele Leonhart initially set aside Judge Bittner’s ruling in 2009.
The agency’s ruling may be appealed in the First Circuit US Court of Appeals.
In July, the DEA denied a nine-year-old petition seeking to initiate hearings regarding the federal classification of cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance, stating in part, “[T]here are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.”
Paid for by PFIZER.
how can they overrule their own judge? that makes about as much sense as the rest of the countries Everything official, but what do i know, im just a broke guy living off the government because they have put a choke hold on jobs via outsourcing and flooding the country with illegal immigrants, that will soon get back door amnesty. also due to the faulty nature of the entire government, this doesnt surprise me in the least. next thing ya know martial law and then we wont have the common decency of being lied to about the fact that we have no where near the freedoms that they tell us we have. Soooo many local laws everywhere are beyond redonk- they have no plausable reason for existing in the ever changing world of Now. i have never been delusional, but from everything ive ever seen about the government, they define the word…
James.
Why does the DEA even have an ALJ if they ignore any ruling that might threaten their job security? They have a long history of ignoring their own judge’s rulings. I do not understand how this agency gets away with twisting laws and their own policies to serve the purposes of a few, in direct opposition to the wishes of the majority!
How can we test it if its not avalible. Oh yea this is a free country. Sure it is. If we tax it we can have art and music programs in our schools. Theres always that federal deficit we could work on. and think of all the room for the real criminals in our prison system. What the Hell
I thought the same thing as InkMama, why even have a judge at all if they’re not going to obey his/her ruling.
It is very difficult to look at the information and not see how corrupt the Federal Government’s dealings with Marijuana truly are. It is a disgrace to intelligent people everywhere that they would take such a rigid stance on the issue. Deny all funding for research, then deny hearings on rescheduling the substance.. Sounds like those two decisions shouldn’t be made by the same department.
Marijuana remaining Schedule 1 is good for two groups of people. The Mexican drug cartels and the DEA. It is disgusting that Obama appointed this woman to be in charge of the DEA. This was truly a terrible, terrible decision as well as a stab in the back to so many who supported him.
god i hate our government.
Well James it is not the first time the government has over ruled findings lets go back to where it ALL started with Nixon did a study on pot and when they came back and told President Nixon that it was NOT harmful and should be legalized he had a cow and threw it all out. This was the start of refeer madness.
Big surprise!
The judge’s position is one of those no-show jobs like on the Sopranos where you get paid but never have to show up for the job. The DEA director calls all the shots, makes sure the administrative judge gets paid and the crime syndicates still make a killing (pun intended) because they have a monopoly on the market.
Yo, Obama! Way to go to help out the poor folks and people of color, just like President James Buchanan, continue basically with the policies put in place by the president before you and leave it for the next president.
Shocker. Ron Paul for president.
The DEA’s reasoning and actions can be seen through like glass. This is what gives them less, if any credibility among the people of the United States, and the fact that they use our tax money to tell us what to believe is outrageous. Now we’re at the point where the DEA are telling scientists what they can, and cannot study and what is science fact and fiction regarding cannabis. For God’s sake police and army people thinking they’re scientist; what a joke! They think using “the heavy hand” will make people quit using cannabis, but they are grossly mistaken. They certainly didn’t learn their lesson from alcohol prohibition, and they haven’t learned the lessons of reality. All of this gives them no credibility what so ever. They are an out-moded institution that should be abolished! IF everything they said about cannabis were true, I should be a depraved, heroin addicted, and wicked person. Boy are these assholes wrong!
who actually decides what the DEA does, cause with all their actions i guarantee you its not a democratic decision. whoever that is needs to be removed from office.
lol America
A moment of silence as I take in the latest evidence that the Federal Gov’t is slamming a big stick up our @$$e$!!!
Not since McCarthy has there been a miscarriage of justice such as this War on Drugs has become and is. The victims from this war, innocent victims, number in the millions. They exist from before the McCarthy era in fact, which had hundreds of thousands of it’s own victims as US citizens were threatened and their lives ruined because of hysteria and fear of Communism. Everyone was suspect, and citizens were encouraged to turn in their neighbors and anyone else they hated or feared were aligned with the dark side.
McCarthyism came and went, Reefer Madness didn’t. Why???
That is the multi-trillion dollar question. And today we got our answer.
Criminalization of cannabis is not a question, like are you a commie, a skinhead, a Nazi sympathizer… a serial killer, a peddler of toxic assets, a human slave dealer… quite the contrary.
University labs have licenses to experiment with everything from smallpox to plutonium. But not cannabis. NOT CANNABIS. This despite the fact that time and again, the DEA and federal government quotes supposed studies “proving how dangerous cannabis is”, linking use with FDA approval, which for an herb that does not cause death, or any major health problems that can’t be helped by our mental health establishment, is astounding. What studies if there are no studies does the DEA and the Federal Gov’t use to deem cannabis as being perhaps more dangerous than snorting plutonium???
You know the old story about how Nero sang while Rome burned? Well, that is our current Federal government. President Obama promised Change, Transparency, Science. He’s failed on all three. Where is the FDA approval for abuse of alcohol, or even the use of it? Where is the FDA research into the harmful effects, the deadly effects of tobacco? There won’t be any, and why? Money and the status quo. Alcohol and tobacco aren’t illegal to use. Their harm is irrelevant because they are legal. The FDA simply will force tobacco manufacturers to put ghastly photo’s of tobacco disease on cigarette packs, and that is the FDA.
Cannabis is an herb, a plant that God grows – “IN GOD WE TRUST”!
Cannabis literally cannot be outlawed as it is not a man-made manufactured substance. The federal gov’t might try and draw a comparison to the Harrison Narcotics act regulating opium, but that is a way far stretch of the imagination as opium is highly addictive, and specifically noted in the act, whereas cannabis IS NOT. Cannabis IS NOT a narcotic.
Use of cannabis as a dangerous substance is not proven as most legitimate studies prove otherwise, studies done outside the epicenter of the world – the USA. Even the UN recently agreed a hard look at prohibition, and cannabis in particular was warranted. But the US snubbed it nose at the suggestion.
Well, who is the US… is it you and I… or is it Michelle Leonhart and the DEA? Apparently it’s NOT you and I… so all bow to Empress Leohart!!!
If I understand the urgency of the American People, it’s to STOP THE HURT!!! Put in place, sound, scientifically based measures that will provide for the health and safety of the American people. Preventing scientific study by universities to cannabis is not only STUPID, but makes the DEA look like Gaddafi Loyalists!!!
Again, I ask… Where is the FDA approval of alcohol and tobacco use? Where when comparing cannabis, alcohol and tobacco does cannabis lie. I guess we know the answer… the federal government doesn’t use science in it’s decision making processes. It uses slight of hand magic, deceit. The same deceit has been used multiple times in the past, but never as effectively as the War on Drugs has successfully used it. But then, how does one measure success?
The federal government measures it by the level of control it has shown is effective in boosting the profitability of the elite over keeping the people in irons. The way to control the people in a tyranny is to enact laws that the people are too powerless and confused to overcome. Keep them drunk, kill them with legal poisons and the tyranny prospers. How ironic we help liberate Libyan, and we subject our own people to Congressional Russian Roulette over the Debt Ceiling, and our lives when it comes to safe recreational plants and safe herbal medicines.
It’s time the Temperance Society rises again… and this time, Mr. President, you won’t be drinking beer at the White House… Time to outlaw any recreational substances and bring the War on Drugs on… build your prisons, build your non-violent offender boot camps, build your Big Pharma and Wall-St connections. Drug up American with your BULLSHIT… and shoot the Zombies on sight!
Cannabis users are peaceful people, and you HATE that, don’t you?! They are people that respect God, and you HATE that too. All bow to Empress Leonhart, and welcome our new Presidential hopeful, the illustrious Richard Perry – with a message from HIS god… “GET IN LINE!!!
End the drug war NOW!
Is there any way to bring light of this to an everyday civilian, meaning one not involved in trying to reform marijuana laws. It is obvious the DEA is diliberately doing everything they can to keep marijuana from being studied. They are saying one thing and doing another. They keep marijuana as a schedule one drug saying there is not enough evidence to remove it from a schedule one drug. That sentence would make sense only if they were to let a small amount be tested at an up standing organization. That was proposed and was to be acted on but it was shot down for reasons that i myself can not understand. The DEA is acting as if marijuana is the boogey man and they are the parent that is coming to save the children. The only thing the DEA has done is to spend our tax dollars to catch us. Now, it is our rights as citizens of the United States to let the goverment know we want marijuana legal we are not children, we are adults thinking on our own. Mature adults are speaking and they are speaking out loud, now speak to the ears that need it…our goverment officals house and senate. I trust in you NORMLnation we can and we will do this.
Sounds to me like the dea is sure afraid of something. Could it be the truth about marijuana that has them this scared? They don’t want to give up ANY of their power. Even when they are wrong.
The unfortunate part of all of this is that the governments official stance is always going to be one of ignorance and blind intolerance. Pharmaceutical companys as well as law enforcement have a vested interest in in keeping marijuana illegal and out of public hands. Why legalize and be able to divert billions of dollars towards education,healthcare,or even green research when we can just blindly abuse the system and allow the law to run roughshot over anyone whom stands in their way. that and the fact that big pharmaceutical pumps so much campaign money into washington that they are truly above the law. The system is not only flawed, but it is also self sustaining.
the future looks bleek if we don’t get out there and start bucking the system (in a civilized way). remember, Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The federal budget allowed to the DEA would nearly disappear if they allowed researchesrs to actually investigate THC and cannibinoids. How long will our government continue to waste money in the name of jobs…big pharma, prisons, addiction counslers, drug testing companies, and even the alcohol and tobacco industries would all lose a major bulk of their business were cannabis ever legalized…they cannot chance undermining the monopoly on human suffering…it must stay thriving. How about we outlaw potatoes too…imagine all the jobs enforcing that nonsense would create. It is no coincidence that cannabinoids are found in only two places on the planet…humans and cannabis! Go to hell, DEA!
Rhetoric.
Her title should be ‘Advisor’ instead of ‘Judge’.
Can they be anymore retarted! THERE IS NO RESEARCH, BECAUSE THEY WON’T ALLOW IT IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE!!!! I THINK MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODED!
In July, the DEA denied a nine-year-old petition seeking to initiate hearings regarding the federal classification of cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance, stating in part, “[T]here are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.”
The rejection preserves the monopoly held by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on the supply of marijuana for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated research. In 2010, a spokesperson for the agency told the New York Times, “We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana.”
[Paul Armentano responds: Indeed, it is a classic ‘catch 22’, which likely won’t be broken until at the very least cannabis is federally rescheduled (or better yet, decsheduled all together).]
Everyone take a deep, happy breath.
This is good news. Now the DEA’s decision can be appealed and they will have to come up with a coherent, rational argument supporting their decision. They will also have to dispute the well honed arguments for the study of marijuana as medicine.
[Paul Armentano responds: Unfortunately, this is not good news at all. The Appeals Court, if respondents decide to further pursue legal action, will only decide on the narrow authority of whether the DEA has the legal authority to reject Judge Bittner’s decision. And given the history of the DEA overruling similar decisions in the past, such as NORML v DEA, the precedent is that they have the authority. The core question of whether the DEA’s decision is sound or grounded in science will not be at issue before the courts.]
How can they do this? Its their JUDGE. How can they just reject his ruling? This world is backwards.
“[T]here are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.”
If I said what I honestly and truly feel about Michelle Leonhart – I’d be put up against a wall and shot to death. She reminds me of what Sir Winston Churchill said to Lady Astor. Lady Astor said – Sir Winston – If you were my husband – I would put poison in your tea. Sir Winston replied – If I were your husband – I’d drink it.
They will continue to ignore any non-binding judgement
that threatens the very reason marijuana was made illegal in the first place,,,keep hemp off the open market.
I cannot believe this. I love reading articles and watching documentaries about how Cannabis is a cure-all. How a woman taking 14 prescriptions for her seizures, yet just uses cannabis butter and she stops taking prescriptions, and the seizures go away.
Man has 5 tumors in his neck. Puts cannabis oil balm and after 2 months, 4/5 tumors went away.
In a lab test with rats, 35% had every single cancer cell destroyed and never returned. A COMPLETE CURE TO CANCER!
These are just a few things that Cannabis can do, yet why is it that “there are no medical benefits?”
How many times must we say we are tired of this? How many more lives must be destroyed by marijuana laws? People that smoke marijuana responsibly do not need to have a police squad or swat team to tackle them and violently remove them from their homes, in front of loved ones and friends. What were they doing wrong? Smoking marijuana? You mean, doing something that is harmless, cures cancer, epilepsy, and treats so many more symptoms and diseases, gets you in prison? Jesus F***ing Christ. THIS is MADNESS.
Rant end.
Revolution is the biggest epidemic in the world right now. It will surely soon spread to our country as well. One way or another WE THE PEOPLE will get what WE want.
“A true patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” – Ed Abbey
This took over 4 years? WTF do they do all day? As if they were ever going to say yes?!
The mindset of the bureaucrats and of the federal appeals court judges is obviously one that is ready and willing to seize upon and utilize any (barely) plausible pretext they can to say no. Reading some of what they say, it’s as if the substance in question was highly unstable plutonium or the world’s most deadly and contagious virus. Indeed, I think they actually believe those would be reasonable comparisons. The tone these “very serious adults” use is ripe for parody. I don’t feel the least bit “protected” by these people. The extent of the control and power they have been given is exactly what is driving so many Americans crazy with contempt and loathing for “government”.
It’s just like the man said, “It’s like we’ve gone through the looking glass.”
Another one said, “The only thing that makes sense is that none of it makes sense.”
And yet another said, “It’s this weird thing that you do when you make nature against the law.”
Michele Leonhart is on a mission to ruin Obama’s chance for re-election.
——————————-
I wondered who I should vote for in the primaries?
Primaries are very important, because that is why Texas got stuck with Governor Rick Perry again. Debra Medina had a good chance to beat Rick Perry until she appeared on the Glen Beck Show and got set up when Glen asked her about the U.S. government had any involvement in the 9/11 attacks. She trusted Glen Beck and answered it; not knowing what his real intention was.
Ron Paul is a better candidate. I’m going to be real cautious about Ron Paul and Vote for him.
I don’t understand nor can I FATHOM why the DEA has anything to do with the FDA. It is most apparent to me that the mafia runs America at this point. Not the mafia we are accustomed to seeing on TV but some evolved form.
around and around and around…maybe Ron Paul as president will abolish the DEA…
The DEA is OBAMA
to say it another way
OBAMA is the DEA
The DEA is corrupt like every other government program!!Bought out by corporate greed! Ron Paul 2012!
Can Bond V. United States be utilized in the marijuana legal fight?
you know,
nascar hasnt emailed me back about that dude with the pot race car…
im hoping there is an american revolution in my lifetime.
There’s still 3,141 Genesist Colonies in the United States – and – in those 3,141 Genesist Colonies there are those who believe in God and our Sacrament. If government would like to take a census – we would be more than happy to provide it with the count. Provide we will in 2012. Government is going to find out “ONCE AND FOR ALL” that it’s not going to violate our religious use by violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Let them put that in their pipe and smoke it!
Brethren of the Genesist Faith
If we start telling the truth, the DEA is out of business – dea _= Ponzi scheme Who wants a Govt that Lie’s to you?
the dea needs to be dissolved. The cops go to the border patrol and the scientists go to the fda and let non-cops decide what is obviously a health issue.
Cannabis has been growing before man ever took a step. Cannabis should ban humans.Who has caused more damage to the planet? Name one person that Cannabis has killed directly. Nobody .Can’t say the same for “legal” Alchohol/Ciggarets. Dumbasses.
#29: So what the fuck is taking so long?
The DEA is a terrorist organization and we just sit back and let ’em do whatever they want
“The time is right for fighting in the streets, boys!”
Mick Jagger
In all my 47 years on this planet; when I was 20, I had hoped that re-legalization would take place before I was 50. Now I see this light fading into the sunset. I firmly believe the only way for this to happen is, by way of a complete US political toilet flush. We need to all sick together like the wasted shit the government makes us out to be. And flush the political shitheads straight to the unemployment line.
A vote for RON PAUL in 2012 is a vote for freedom
Ron Paul doesn’t want to keep the CIA, safe bet he will also want to abolish the DEA.
Getting rid of both organizations might also take away part of the trafficking of drugs. Supposedly in the past CIA and the DEA were both smuggling drugs together using DEA vehicles. Bringing in drugs to sell allowing the CIA to get money. Then DEA making drug busts seizing cash and kicking some money back to the CIA.
Cartels are probably just a scapegoat. They might not be the only ones involved in trafficking drugs.
Also as long as marijuana remains illegal it’s helping the hard drug dealers push more cocaine and heroin as more pot smokers come into contact with the hard drugs on the street when purchasing their pot on the same market.
The tax payers are funding the failed drug war while others are getting rich because we have the drug war.
Maybe a pretty lady in the whitehouse will prove to you once and for all that the POTUS is a figure head. They do not have the power to change things of this nature anymore. Back in President Nixons day one person could make changes like that(CSA), only to the detriment of this country. We are now stuck in a conundrum from which we cannot recover. Thanks Dick.
We will continue to ignore the Feds and KEEP SPARK’EN UP AMERICA!!!!
somedood Says:
I don’t understand nor can I FATHOM why the DEA has anything to do with the FDA. It is most apparent to me that the mafia runs America at this point. Not the mafia we are accustomed to seeing on TV but some evolved form.
Why do you think they disappeared without a trace? It’s because they all got jobs at the DEA.
Here is the definitions of mafia
Ma·fi·a
noun?/?mäf??/?
1. An organized international body of criminals, operating originally in Sicily and now esp. in Italy and the US and having a complex and ruthless behavioral code
2. Any similar group using extortion and other criminal methods
3. A closed group of people in a particular field, having a controlling influence
– the conservative top tennis mafia
I think the DEA and much of our federal government would fit right in.
This is a question for the administration.
The government is supposed to be a system of checks and balances. What are the checks and balances for the DEA? What is keeping them from just executing people they deem drug dealers? It seems we are getting very close to this scenario because I never see them get fired or go to jail when they shoot civilians or throw a flash-bang in a kid’s lap killing them. No DEA agents were ever arrested for any of the crap they did in the Iran Contra scandal. Why does it seem these people are not accountable for their actions? If any other law enforcement got caught doing things the DEA gets away with all the time they would be fired or put in jail. Has any DEA agent ever gone to jail for on the job misconduct? It seems to me that this organization has become more powerful than the president or any other specific faction of government.
Any more power and they will just shoot anyone who disagrees with them. They have an office in all the major countries in the world. To me they seem like legal international terrorists.
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE COME TO EXPECT FROM THE ALMIGHTY DEA. THEY TELL US THAT CANNABIS IS AS DANGEROUS AS HEROIN OR COCAINE (SCHEDULE I). ANYBODY WITH ANY KNOWLEDGE OF DRUGS KNOWS THAT THIS ACCUSATION IS A JOKE!
I HAVE SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC PAIN SINCE LATE 2003. I RECENTLY HAD TO SEEK A PAIN SPECIALIST TO MANAGE MY PAIN . THE REALLY CRAZY THING TO ME IS THAT THEY MAKE SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT CANNABIS, BUT THEY WILL WRITE YOU A PRESCRIPTION FOR DRUGS THAT ARE MANY TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN CANNABIS ( e.g. Morphine, Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Hydromorphone, and methadone).
THESE SCHEDULE II DRUGS ARE AS POWERFUL AND SOMETIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN HEROIN!! I WAS TOLD THAT I HAD TO STOP USING MARIJUANA FOR MY PAIN, BUT IT’S OK IF I TAKE POTENT, ADDICTIVE NARCOTICS…
I DON’T THINK THIS HAS ANYTHING TODO WITH SAFETY OR WHAT’S RIGHT..IT HAD TODO WITH $$$!!!
re: “final order”
Ja ist dieses Die Endlösung
When will the DEA have its “Operation Fast and Furious” and get put on the Nation’s shit-list. Leonhart and her cronies just don’t seem that smart so the only reason they haven’t tripped over their own feet is that they don’t take risks. How can we resolve that? What skeletons do they have in their closet that even Joe the Plumber will not be able to write off?
This all makes perfect sense. Why would the DEA allow research to be done with marijuana? The research would prove what everyone knows. When the truth comes out the laws would HAVE to change. A POX on the DEA. Write your representatives. If they don’t answer you the way you would approve vote them out. This has been going on Years and years….
Its come to the point where voting someone out takes too long. We need a quicker way. Like INSTANTLY. I wonder how that can be accomplished? Where there is a will, there is a way.
There is a great 90 minutes show oh History Channel today titled “Marijuana: A Chronic History”.
It’s actually truthful. Millions of Americans will get an education, and the cops I’m sure will just get angry.
shame on the dea
Excuse me for asking, but I’m wondering if there is any research on the obliteration of the cannabis plant in the world and the health of birds??? Cannabis used to grow all over America and provide what I always thought and heard was excellent nutrition. It’s obvious the bird populations are at a record low… could it be they are malnourished? Or is the absence of cannabis seeds for birds a good thing, in that, if birds eat cannabis seeds, they get high, fly higher and higher out into space and fly into the Sun. Does anyone know? Is there a chance our government could pursue research on the loss of cannabis seed to birds and whether that is a good thing or a bad thing??? While I’m asking, what about the effects of the loss of cannabis for deer, moose, bears, and other herbivores? Maybe Sarah Palin, being a nature enthusiast knows the answer. I wonder if GreenPeace might volunteer to blockade destruction of the cannabis plant until research has been done on this issue. I’m totally serious! Cannabis is for the birds, the wildlife and the people. Andour government spits in God’s eyes and tramples and burns his gifts.
Maybe Michelle Bachman was right, and ALL the natural disasters of the past 75 years are a message to Washington? My cats like catnip – that must be a BAD thing… they seem to be hooked? Why is my government, the DEA not doing something about catnip… just because my cat on drugs doesn’t murder me in my sleep doesn’t mean catnip should be legal. If they like it as much as they appear to like it, like birds used to enjoy the seeds, then there must be something really bad about catnip too. Maybe my cats should be arrested and jailed, and me too for supplying them. Gosh, I really need guidance… I better ask the Empress Leonhart!!! The DEA knows what’s best for all of us. Drink up people and smoke your tobacco – neither requires FDA Approval. In fact, speaking of plants and herbs we use in our daily life – what plants require FDA approval? Does my birdseed require FDA approval? Does my cat’s catnip require FDA approval? Does a dog’s bone require FDA approval?
Why does cannabis require FDA or DEA approval???
It doesn’t! We live in a fantasy land where hysteria from the Depression Era of the 1930’s infected the federal government. They have a mental disorder for which there is seemingly no cure. They suffer from delusions, paranoia, anger issues and control issues. They refuse to listen to their own judges, nor do they seek therapy. They are abusive, enjoy pain and inflicting pain. They enjoy destruction of the environment and death to wildlife. They would rather shoot wolves and wild horses from helicopters than manage the natural resources for these animals to survive. They would deny cannabis seeds to birds.
The federal government is sick. And we it’s victims. Is there a law against abuse by our government?
Answer: NO! Live with it, or Die. It’s the New Hampshire Way! Time the rest of the country accepts it. Welcome to the MACHINE…
The sooner Michelle Leonhart dies and meets up with her friends in hell the better!
What about their ‘monopoly’ clause? i.e. fair business practices being protected by megolithic corporations… their excuse would probably be ‘we’re not a corporation we’re the government,’ which of course is a lie, because pot is the hingepin in their ‘war on (some) drugs to fund the CIA with covert money for operations they don’t have to justify because they paid for it with drug money. Because the drug cartels OWN the US government. Read tinyurl.com/1mn it’s not a war on (some) drugs it’s a war on minority habits to replace outlawed slave labor with prison labor.
I keep hearing stuff like,, ‘when the truth comes out’
the truth is out but we have a dictatorship in Washington that doesn’t give a dam about any people, because they are dictators.. this ant freedom how I was taught in Public School.
Welcome to the NEW WORLD ORDER OF FEDERALISM AND MARIJUANA PROHIBITION. The 21ST CENTURY INQUISITORS are starting to feel the fear of medical marijuana and the the will of the people for marijuana to be legal. Their TROJAN HORSE IS STARTING TO BUCK and eventually the WALL WILL COME DOWN, THE BARBARIANS ARE AT THE GATE.
Man, after all we’ve seen and been through I didn’t realize that anyone was still operating under the illusion that the DEA cares even a little what’s actually in the public’s best interest…
Marijuana can be sold in health stores without FDA approval if it wasn’t labeled a drug. As long as marijuana was not labeled as a drug and never had any mention of diseases for it’s use on the label it could have probably been sold in a health store. Because marijuana is labeled as a drug it requires FDA approval as only a drug can cure illnesses. If it wasn’t labeled a drug the DEA would probably still step in and get states to ban it if it was sold in a health store because it could be smoked and get you high.
In health stores they sell supplements/herbs that are not recognized/approved as a drug by the FDA. They can’t mention anything about helping against cancer or other types of diseases because only a drug can do that. If they mention anything about diseases on their herb labels then the FDA will step in and pull it for not being approved by the FDA as a drug.
Just left a Veteran’s Hospital where I was treated for a heart attack, every single person in that facility, from the patients, nurses, and doctors were in favor of medical marijuana. We put on the uniform it seems to help people in other countries fight oppression, word of warning to this Gov, and the DEA! Stop arresting Americans for using Medical Marijuana, you’re oppression of our citizens utilizing a medicine to help themselves is gathering cultured attention.
There’s a lot of chatter about “REVOLUTION.” The only revolution that is going on right now [is] the revolution in our own heads. It has not reached our fists yet – and – may never reach our fists. This is because life is 50/50 – which is to say – “There’s as many against [as] there are for.” When you think about the “power and the money” that backs prohibition – the revolution that’s going on in one’s head becomes mush – and at best – a mind game that one perpetrates on one’s self – as our brain turns into water and runs out our ears.
The truth of the matter is – we the people are opposing the intentions of the new world order [an Orwellian Society – 1984]. As we sit on our asses and complain about what is or will be – without thought to that which is exactly the way it is well planned – we convince ourselves that “GOVERNMENT DOESN’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT WE THINK OR SAY.” Well duh! That is the “TRUTH” – and – the more we complain – the more they laugh their asses off with glee. The more lip service we supply – the more they feel victory. So what’s the answer? The answer is as it’s always been since the beginning of time, “OFF YOU ASS AND ON YOUR FEET – YOUR BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN’ – AND – THAT’S JUST WHAT THEY’LL DO” – and – as we damn well know in our hearts and minds “NOTHING HAPPENS – UNLESS – YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN.” Fortunately we can make anything happen.
Ron Paul for President!! He’s the citizens only hope!
[Editor’s note: Why not Tinkerbell or the Jolly Green Giant? Because they have a better chance than too-old-to-be-president and too libertarian Ron Paul. He is not only not the only hope, he has no hope of winning the GOP nomination, and even if he did (pause for laughter), the US is not libertarian, no matter what some cannabis activists delusional believe and he would get crushed by a sitting president.
Psychologists warn against ‘projection’, where individuals project onto a person, or, case at hand, a political candidate their desires (or in your word ‘hope’) that they are something they’re not. Ron Paul is a great man, the most famous voice in modern American politics for libertarianism and an effective Congressman from his conservative district in TX. But none of this translates into him being able to win the GOP nomination and certainly not in a general election to be president.]
btw Paul can i get a job for NORML????? lol
We have to target the DEA it’self and make ther jobs extict by showing the public that they mislead the citizens for the propagations of employment.
@ #67 – “Herbs and the FDA”:
I understand what you are saying, but there are few criteria to back up claims that the FDA, the DEA or the DOJ can prohibit sale of cannabis herb in Health Food stores. There is the argument that one can get high from cannabis and therefore it should be regulated, and in our present case strictly banned, but technically that is probably unconstitutional as one can get high on several legal substances which are not banned, many not restricted.
Cannabis is not technically a drug until it is synthesized, or it’s drug-related properties are chemically extracted in a lab. Of course, according to the DEA there are NO Drug Related components in cannabis, no medical value whatsoever, even though the federal government owns a patent claiming otherwise.
So any medicinal value to date is unsubstantiated. Much like Ginseng, echinacea, St. John’s wort, White Willow bark, Valerian, Kava, Strawberry leaves, ginger, maca root, wormwood, rosehips, etc, etc… all can be sold in health food stores as you say as long as no medicinal value is described. Which is rather contrary to the facts as those same herbs show up in drug-stores in a variety of products claiming to aid in such and such.
Cannabis, ie, marijuana is not a drug as it has no proven scientifically available US data proving it is a drug. Therefore, it is just another plant, that people believe has medicinal qualities.
The FDA nor DEA has any jurisdiction over such claims making cannabis a drug, even if some people claim it gets them high, which also has no scientific basis in reality.
I can write a book and claim it has all sorts of mystical, magical, medical properties, but until it is proven, it’s just my words in a book.
To harass US citizens and subject them to legal peril is unconstitutional, as any sentence issued would not fit the crime – a crime which is based on the fantasy belief that cannabis gets one high, and constitutes a danger to society, when no valid US studies verify that claim by either the federal or state governments.
Cannabis has the fundamental right to be sold in Health Food stores, and used by American Citizens. Extracts or synthesized drugs made from cannabis don’t, but since no value of such can be derived from cannabis that is not an issue.
There is no proof, scientifically or otherwise that sale of cannabis constitutes a danger to society. With regards to claims that it is addictive, I’d like to see the proof? Tobacco surely is narcotic and addictive, but legal too. Same with alcohol. So what kind of addiction does a plant with no recognized medicinal (as in drug) value have in the sense that it constitutes it as an addictive drug? Any drug-like claims, claims of intoxicating effects, claims of it as a medicinal manufactured drug simply do not exist.
It is a natural plant that can grow wild and is as fairly old native plant in North America. If the FDA or DEA wishing to claim otherwise, they must prove scientifically that cannabis in it’s natural form is a drug, and that it constitutes and imminent and obvious hazard to human consumption. Something they haven’t done, and based on thousands of currently recognized world studies they can’t.
Conclusion… sell it in Health Food stores, get the taxes, and don’t make claims it cures or alleviates anything. End of story.
To #73, exactly it should just be sold in a health store. Then they don’t need to go through the long process of how to label it and how to sell it. It would be a lot less complicated.
They can put a age restriction on it if they want and maybe some simple instructions on it like not driving after consuming it, etc.
People can decide what reasons they want to use it for at their own risk.
its completely wrong, i like that someone admits to it being further wrong that the dea tells us what to believe when we’re the ones paying for them. Or that the gov’t says they wont consider mj because it has no uses but then wont grant anyone the ability study it on top of rejecting years upon years of research that completely dispels all the bs myths about the plant. why? so they can make more money off of other products that cannabis would replace as well as all the drug companies that would go outta business due to their lack of need if cannabis is legalized…… its how the rich stay rich, and the poor stay poor, still think its better to just complain over the internet, why not orchestrate something to show your beliefs? when this country was founded our goal was to make sure that our gov’t doesnt rule us again like britian was trying to. but do to the success of that and the overall peace of the american people over the years we’ve grown complacent. We let rights and freedoms slip through our fingers.. so long as it doesn’t affect our home life… our comfort……I PRUPOSE A BOYCOTT. the owner of starbucks thinks its a good idea to do so. hes not paying a dime to any political parties until they can agree on how to take care of the us and put the american people first over there silly pride and stature … get the idea, our govt isnt a group of polititians but a bunch of international, powerful, businessmen. So hit them where it hurts .. their pockets, that will get their attention. WE pay for ALL things government. The money is from our tax dollars… that they hound ur for if ur off by a lil bit. The military, the post office, the people hired to fix our roads, teachers, transit systems, disaster relief, all that WE pay for, AND WE are requesting our client “the federal government” to use an idea we’ve thought of to help the overall country and they blatantly ignore it. so IF WE ARENT GETTING WHAT WE PAY FOR THEN WHY PAY? i say boycott govt services and or political campaighns until we as the united states people are actually heard.
I will still support Ron Paul as he has the brains to get this country back on track and bring common sense to the table. If he gets enough votes or not I can still say I support someone I see intelligant enough to run the country!
It’s sad to say that someone like Sarah Palin is capable or should we say stupid enough to become president and the American people are stupid enough to vote for her!
Obama was just more of the same, just another politician!
Democrat or Republican, the mainstream candidates with a chance to win are going to continue with the same old agendas while blaming each other for the continuing problems at hand!
so lookit the problem is going to be that trying to say that there is no way it doesnt cure anything, and they havent been able to prove it doesnt, so they choke hold the flow of it in this country…break it down for ya. you know, maybe they want this, meth, coke, etc. illegal to have a reason to have such a strong police presence through out the country. theres a much larger problem going on here. and Paul, there wasnt anything wrong with my removed post! ive seen blatant other posts that made it that have nothing to do with the subject, whereas my post was a realistic approach on the situation as a whole. unless of course it was too truthful and needed to be removed for my safety sake, which i appreciate. =^-.-^=
[Editor’s note: Why not Tinkerbell or the Jolly Green Giant? Because they have a better chance than too-old-to-be-president and too libertarian Ron Paul. He is not only not the only hope, he has no hope of winning the GOP nomination, and even if he did (pause for laughter), the US is not libertarian, no matter what some cannabis activists delusional believe and he would get crushed by a sitting president.
btw voting for either Garfield the Cat and atleast 3 other fictional characters on the local election has resulted in me not getting a voter ballot the last 3 times theyve done them. all 3 times, there was atleast 4 other registered voters, and they all got theres. lmao. nothing else to add.
Why do we put up with this stupid shit Vote them out plane and simple. We have alot more power than most think if we vote. Let these pinko comi fags stand in the unemployment line. We need to send a loud message to D.C. Leonhart is a butt licker and if Obama had a set of balls in his boxers he would fire this dumb ass.
??? PETITION TIME!
??? We the People, Demand Justification for this violation of our natural Human Rights!
??? 1 – http://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-federal-prohibition-of-the-cannabis-plant#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t
??? 2 – http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/end-the-federal-prohibition-of-the-cannabis-plant/
Given the choice, Obama or Ron Paul, who would you vote for? Simple question, Mr editor.
[Editor’s note: Neither.]
The White House has a new program where anyone can start a petition on WhiteHouse.gov for any issue we think should be addressed. A subject is supposed to be reviewed once it gets 5,000 signatures in a months time. IF this works and the petitions are TRUELY going to be looked at and acted on, the massive support for stopping Marijuana Prohibition will be undeniable.
[Paul Armentano responds: NORML is aware of this newly announced White House online forum. We have a petition question already drafted and will be alerting NORML constituents once the forum is officially open.]
our government knows EVERYTHING about cannabis already…what a crock of shit. boy, they are really grabbin at straws about this awesome herb. i know they will drag this thing out until many of us are dead. im just wondering how we can at least get saliva testing used at work instead of hair or piss testing…such an invasion of privacy..god, i miss the herb…peace to you all..
I wonder if Israel is looking for immigrants. They just made the opposite determination at the federal level.
Ron Paul 2012
Hay, did any of ya’ll see this? Wonder what they’d do with hundreds of thousands of signatures?
“White House will consider any online petition that gets 5000 signatures”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/01/310391/white-house-will-consider-any-online-petition-that-gets-5000-signatures/
Ron Paul indeed. Obama and the Dems lost my vote months ago.
#82:
Great idea – pursuing the WhiteHouse.gov petition route… however, we all know after 100,000 votes to decriminalize cannabis the government response will most likely be, “The federal government doesn’t debate, negotiate, or consider legalization of drugs. Period. Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in this country, and it is the DEA who is charged with enforcing a well established and successful policy with regards to substance abuse”!
They might go on to say… “The goal at the White House is to consider petitions on jobs, oil drilling, nuclear energy, abortion, gun rights, tax cuts for the wealthy… important issues that have solutions.”
The GOOD NEWS is, the 100,000+ signatures to legalize cannabis will be noticed, the bad news is we’ll probably see how we’re still treated like adolescents, and be subject to some sort of Presidential joke about how too many people in the US have too much free time, and are unaware of the dangers of drug abuse.
Still, just as the DEA has dug itself deep into a dung-pit with by prohibiting all research to conclusively prove any of it’s claims, the White House will only show – and I really hope I’m wrong – how it’s simply more of the same old politics… “make the PEOPLE think they’re important, and it’ll pacify them through the next election.
Well, so sorry Mr. President, the Cannabis Spring is HERE and NOW!!!
Vote Ron Paul 2012? to end the FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS’ 40 YEAR LONG UNSUCCESSFUL WAR on the people’s freedom of choice to consume substances (The end of the War on Drugs).
Ron Paul to audit the fed. Ron Paul to default the Constitution.? Ron Paul to end the “Patriot” Act. Ron Paul to end the private bankers’ “Federal” Reserve and the power for them to print currency (UNCONSTITUTIONAL).
Ron Paul to end warantless spying on American citizens, like you and I
Ron Paul to restore the people’s rights!!!
[Editor’s note: is it not too bad that 1) a president can’t end the war on drugs all by themselves (have you ever heard of Congress?) and 2) Ron Paul will never win the GOP nomination and will never be elected president in a general election.
Is it not time for Ron Paul sycophants to embrace the political reality that he is not going to be elected president and that America’s two major parties are not going to nominate a libertarian candidate anytime soon…who will then go on to get crushed in the general election?]
we could have 300 million votes yes for legalizing cannabis and the government would still ignore us. We outnumber them. Its already legal if you smoke it. Screw their laws. We live by our own. If they come o knocking blow some smoke in their face, maybe they will come around.
It escapes me – why people call it an “unsuccessful war.” The reality is -it’s still illegal – isn’t it? Sounds pretty successful to me. What is unsuccessful is our attempts to legalize it – and – even though we’re gaining on them in this war – the “power still has the power” to crush us with its might. Now here’s the bottom line – take it or leave it – “The only way to make it happen is with a display of our might – that is to say – in their face with bodies – a formal choose off – a peaceful but rude display of power on our part. It’s time to march on the prohib – but – only the prohib. We now know who our friends are – and – we know who our enemies are. It’s time to defeat our enemies of the people. We have now passed the line drawn in the sand. There are now more of us for total legalization – and 3/4ths of us for medical use. If that’s not a good start – I don’t know what is. If that don’t get you up off your asses and on your feet – I don’t know what will. DO IT!
The DEA is just terrified that they’ll be proven wrong with further studied on marijuana. Free da weed!
I just finished reading all the comments posted above. Listen folks – nobody is going to do anything to resolve this disgraceful situation because a vast majority of the population doesn’t consume cannabis and really doesn’t care about what the politicians do or don’t do. So the best way around it is to keep working to make it legal medically in more and more states. Once 50% or more of them have MMJ laws on the books the public will start to come to its senses.
92. Jman
“You happen to be absolutely correct.” We stick’em – where we [can] stick’em. We go after their Achilles heel. Medical use is far ahead of recreational use. We should be bringing every last ounce of pressure we can muster against them with medical use. This will bring us that much closer to recreational use.
It’s certainly true that a president can’t end the war on drugs by him/herself, but he/she could at least take positive steps like not appointing another cop as “drug czar” or not appointing a rabid anti-cannabis zealot like Michelle Leonhart as head of the DEA. Obama has consistently been on the wrong side of the drug war issue. It has cost him support among those who helped put him there. All he had to do was take small steps in the right direction but, of course, that assumes that he is not a staunch prohibitionist himself. Also, I may be wrong here, but I believe that drugs can be reclassified under the CSA without an act of congress. I believe that the Justice Department has the authority to do so.
In my Communion today – the DEA will be in my prayers. I will ask God for one thing – “GET THIS FUCKIN’ MONKEY OFF MY BACK.”
@Road Runner… meep, meep… the truth is, since the DEA adamantly rejects all medical use for cannabis, and rejects all studies and research to support medical benefits for cannabis, medical activism is the least likely means to end prohibition. What could end prohibition is simply our Constitution. Since the DEA has refused to research medical and/or other uses of cannabis, it has no data to support it’s current long-lasting stance that cannabis is a menace to society. Just as there was insufficient proof to charge Casey Anthony with 1st degree murder or her child, the same applies to the DEA. There is insufficient proof to torture millions of Americans with cannabis prohibition, which makes it unconstitutional for them to continue to do so. There is no legitimate crime when proof of a harm to society or individual is absent.
The good news is we all know there are medicinal benefits to cannabis, but that is simply a fact not yet thoroughly researched as the federal government pretty much has it’s head in the sand. But the truth cannot remain ignored for much longer. I simply doubt a medical approach to legalization and sanity for cannabis will work… it requires the DEA to admit they are wrong, something they will never do. Where we need to push is that prohibition is unconstitutional as there is no proof of a crime if there are no victims based on the crime as it it is currently written.
To Jayman: The Attorney general, Eric Holder has the power to decriminalize cannabis. And I believe, since Pres. Jimmy Carter already did so once in 1976, that the President does too. Obama is taking the wrong side here and it will bite him in the ass. No question he has pissed off the very people who voted him into office. The only problem is a typical one, those seeking to replace him, with the exception of Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, and maybe Huntsman, are by far much scarier than Obama. Which means, we can voice our opinion in the primaries by voting for Ron Paul, but ultimately, we can probably expect to vote either for Obama again, Rick Perry, or Romney. Not a pretty choice.
So back to the basics… prohibition of cannabis, the laws and penalties are unconstitutional. A government cannot sustain cannabis prohibition with severe penalties without proof that a serious harm to society exists, and there is no proof, as the DEA refuses to allow research that could prove harm or good… without evidence, the laws are void. The Constitution wins. And if President Obama had any balls and really did want to win reelection, he would realize that basic truth.
Reefer Madness is now and always has been based on myth… not reality. And We the People have been paying taxes to support the myth… and support penalties that far exceed any crime as there is no crime other than the myth that cannabis is crime, which it’s not, except on paper in the minds of politicians who have been able to magically make us believe they are tough on crime when in fact they are tough on enforcing shadow boxing.
The Cannabis Spring is here! Stop the Hurt!
97. BobKat
The problem with this government is “It doesn’t know how to mind its own fuckin’ business” – and – even if it did I seriously doubt it would do a good job of it. It’s all bla bla bla – yaba yaba yaba. The real truth of the matter is – “We the people don’t give a shit what the government says- or – how they feel about it – we’re going to do it – no matter what” – and – fuck’em if they can’t take a joke.” You’re absolutely right! It is a Constitutional matter. It’s the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution – and – “The free exercise thereof.” Personally – I’m ready, willing, and able to stand my ground against government’S burdening my religion which proscribes any law prohibiting religious use. And – “THAT’S THAT.
Once again, profits over people.
Obviously this is a direct result of the willful dumbing of available, legitimate, publicly accepted knowledge/research. The DEA and ONDCP, both of which aren’t run by medical professionals, are well aware of the efficacy of endocannabinoid agonists and antagonists (to activate or block activation of the system through cannabinoids [e.g. cannabis]). Currently, of all the synthetic chemicals available, the natural cannabinoids in cannabis are among the safest, most non-toxic substances for humans to consume on the entire planet. Furthermore, we literally could safe lives just by diverting some alcohol and tobacco use to responsible cannabis use.
As for the issue of the presidency, it does look as though the future holds bright for Obama’s re-election (per analytical data provided by Allan Lichtman), so unfortunately an election of someone [like Ron Paul] as liberal on cannabis won’t happen this time. But the publicity for his campaign is vital to public debate in general (not just cannabis, but many other issues that he debates).
I ask you – doesn’t it make sense to be like water – and – take the path of least resistance. Religious use is that path of least resistance [Rastas/American Indian Church]. Religious use also recognizes and includes, as a part of its Doctrine, compassionate use [medical use]. There! that’s killing two birds with one stone. Recreational use receives the most resistance – nevertheless – is still unconstitutional in any sense of reality. The battle for our Constitutional rights is a long and hard fought battle – mainly because it’s a battle for “all of our Constitutional rights” which we are being stripped away on a daily basis. The big question is – Who/what Americans are denying us our freedom and why? Is this foreplay to 1984 [Orwellian Society]? THINK ABOUT IT.
“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. I will never, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance, or admit the right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others. On the contrary, we are bound – you, I, and everyone, to make common cause, even with error itself, to maintain the common right of freedom of conscience. We ought with one heart and one hand hew down the daring and dangerous efforts of those who would seduce the public opinion to substitute itself into – tyranny over religious faith.” Thomas Jefferson
which is why i got the last 7 of 10 signatures required for the change.org petition. although i dont see how 200 signatures will get them to do anything about it. basicly im tired of being lied to by big bro, and im tired of this bull crap in general. george washington and thomas jefferson BOTH (altho not alone) thought the entire world is better off from the use of hemp etc.
The thing that makes me laugh the most is that ive noticed alot!!!!! of people saying that weed isnt the same as back in the day cause its stronger….
But i never hear any of those people bring up that you cant od on it- so stronger just means its gonna take me less time to get my buzz on so i can go be regularly normal. also as far as it being stronger now then back in the 30’s- Ever hear of TaiStick???????? its like the HGrail of cannabis and has been around for what? 3k years???? theres no bloody point in arguing how strong it is versus effecting people, and therefore should just be ignored or responded to as i have- infact i added that in to the letter to Norm Dicks that i sent from NORML’s write your rep page. basicly read exactly the same, except i added in after It is time to stop ceding control of the
marijuana market to unregulated, criminal entrepreneurs and allow states
to enact common sense regulations that seek to govern the adult use of
marijuana in a fashion similar to alcohol, :
if not exactly like it, ie;
allow home growing as long as no sale attempts occur, etc. at some point
you’ve got to ask yourself: “did prohibition help with alcohol at all?”
answer: obviously not, since all it did was formulate NASCAR- in attempts
to out run cops. there is no logical/plausible reason for it to be
prohibited, merely controlled. as far as the Strength of Marijuana plants,
there is no possibility of overdose, so the strength of the plants are
pretty much moot.
so therin you can see what i mean.
thanks NORML for having that link in support of HR 2306, making it so we can get it in legal like Alcohol and tobacco. this plant prosecution is insanity, AND IT NEEDS TO STOP.
i will definately sign a whitehouse website 5k req petition let me know, ill bring atleast 7 friends with me.
With so much support for Cannabis, and the obvious broken govt which still supports decades old, ignorant, racist lies and propaganda, why arent we doing anything about it? Im sorry, but the more that prohibition continues, and the reasons why, the more ridiculous it gets! In my eyes, the govt is responsible for EVERY non violent drug offenders life thats ruined, and what they go through in prison, for ALL the deaths that continue to tally due to the war on drugs, they are responsible for anyone who had to resort to the black market and had something unfortunate happen to them as well as any deaths in the black market, they are responsible for ALL the tax payer money wasted in fighting an obviously failing war, they are responsible for ALL the pain and suffering that MILLIONS had to go through because they couldnt get a safe and natural alternative to help their ailments, they are responsible for ALL of the people who became addicted top prescription drugs because they couldnt get access to cannabis, they are responsible for the DEATHS of ALL the people whos lives cannabis COULD HAVE SAVED, they are responsible for the deaths of unarmed, non violent citizens (and pets) durings drugs raids, they are responsible for all propaganda and the human beings who walk around with ignorant, distorted views of one of the most benign substances on earth, they are responsible for not allowing the hemp industry to flourish to keep profits in other polluting and corrupt industried like OIL, denying hemp also stopped all the possiblities of hemp and all hemp products which could replace so many wasteful and polluting products we use today, and lastly they are responsible for future incidents where all the things I mentioned will continue to happen! With 20,000 studies on cannabis, no deaths directly related to cannabis, and a govt that is in cahoots with big pharma/alcohol/tobacco, and refuses any findings or studies on cannabis, its very CLEAR WHAT WE NEED TO DO! Non violent, civil action is in order NOW! Sure lots of people have made lots of great points on these boards, scientists have found a variety of sutdies, and lots of money has been thrown into organizations like Norml, MPP, etc. However, being an activist the last few years and a member if the Zeitgeist Movement, I have learned that getting to the root cause of a problem is the only way to get truly fix the problem. We’re doing everything wrong! Stop VOTING! Stop throwing money at everything! We are human beings, and we are allowing a small group of people dictate our entire existence to us! If you continue to suport the system, shit will go on EXACTLY how is has been. Stop supporting the system, and you create REAL change! Its unbelievable that the rest of the world recognizes the problems and are doing something about it – in America, its like as long as people can consume, watch their sound bite news/ cheesy reality shows, and not do too much thinking they are content just voicing their opnions online. When are we hitting the streets?! When are we going to stop driving our cars when some group of people decides to throw the gas prices up and down? When are we going to stop voting when its so obvious we have no real choices in anything?! When are we goign to realize that our subserviant culture only favors a relative few?! Is anybody with me?!?!
Sorry my last post was a wall of text, when I pasted it from my blog, it merged into one big paragraph..
They will say anything and do everything to keep the status-quo.How come cocaine and heroin are cheaper today and more potent than ever after 40yrs and billions of dollars wasted in the drug war? The system is like a junkie, addicted, corrupt, and sinister and will justifiy all to keep the budgets flowing as well the contraband to keep feeding a junkie fix, thier coffers.
why do people think that just because a canidate wants to legalize cannabis means we elect him (or herrr) and poof, it is legal?….aah, no, ron paul is up against many lawmakers who stand to lose, along with their lobbists, if cannabis is legalized…so, we cannot souly depend on who gets elected…we got to open the eyes of those who dont know the real people behind the herb! dammit, their are millions of decent human beings in the good old u.s.a. who consume cannabis….its going to take ALL of us to speak loud enough to be heard…..peace to you all and, thanks to paul and the crew at norml for not giving up when the ship has run aground. i get bummed out and, give in and then, i read something on this website that stirs this fire we call freedom…inhale for me….
So in the eyes of the DEA I was better off hooked on prescription painkillers and muscle relaxants – 30 Vicodin and 20+ Soma per day – than on the totally innocuous med mj I’ve used since kicking that monkey off my back. Let’s see, how many times did I lose consciousness on all those legal narcotic drugs??? A few, pathetically… How great was my driving on all those pills??? Maybe not so hot… My life has changed 1000% for the better since getting off LEGAL HARD DRUGS in favor of medical marijuana. The DEA has an agenda to perpetuate which has ZERO to do with the medical effectiveness of marijuana. Though our points are valid, the DEA is a political organization which depends about an enormous budget – which might be cut WHEN marijuana is eventually legalized. Personally, I can’t wait to see the DEA have to pursue genuinely bad, dangerous people rather than passive , mellow pot smokers.
Much goes on in the Washington Circus! This hitherto unknown press release from the Drug Czar’s Office:
Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime: Converging Threats in the 21st Century
Posted by R. Gil Kerlikowske on July 25, 2011 at 10:56 AM EDT http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/25/drug-trafficking-and-organized-crime-converging-threats-21st-century
Which begins: “Today, I was pleased to join my colleagues from throughout the Administration to announce the first U.S. strategy on transnational organized crime (TOC) in fifteen years. The Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime provides a comprehensive plan that will, in part, help us build on our progress to further reduce drug use in the United States and disrupt drug trafficking and its facilitation of other transnational threats.”
THE WAR ON DRUGS ESCALATES. The primary goal of this report is to attempt a strangle-hold on distribution of cannabis, and to a lessor degree cocaine. Between this information, and the recent White House Policy on Drug Policy it’s obvious the Federal Government is broken. Out of touch with the reality of the problems and dangers this country faces.
1: Gun violence by straight people, alcoholics or prescription drug abusers (not cannabis users, growers, and US civilian distribution.
2: Deaths and harm caused by alcohol and tobacco use. Includes, domestic violence; vehicular homicides; chronic alcoholism, deaths from abuse of alcohol, virtually unregulated though taxed availability; Tobacco related illnesses including cancer, heart-disease, COPD.
3: Escalation in the domestic development of pseudo-cannabis, LSD, stimulant, “energy” substances, none regulated by the FDA, and few regulated by the DEA. The variations are so infinite as to make regulation of these products impossible. The good news, people really don’t want these artificial products, but rather, in the case of cannabis they want cannabis, in the case of LSD, there is natural growing peyote and psilocybin (magic mushrooms), both natural, reasonably safe to use, and with documented therapeutic value, or religious value when used properly.
4: Prescription Drug Abuse. To give you an idea of how messed up the system the DEA uses is, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, along with opium and Fentanyl, meaning they have recognized medical value, high potential for abuse or addiction, and yet can be prescribed by a physician. Thing is, Fentanyl is 80X more potent than morphine, with heroin being only 4X as potent. All can be prescribed by a physician; cannabis cannot.
Religious use of plants is not even addressed. That is most likely because Religious Freedom in this country is viewed by Christian Standards, not Constitutional standards. Both peyote, and psilocybin are subject to The Controlled Substances Act, and not an Act of God, therefore, laws regulating religious uses for cannabis, peyote and psilocybin are based on the Controlled Substances Act.
The full listing and status of substances can be found here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act
The conclusion, my conclusion is The Controlled Substances Act which is the BIBLE for the DEA and many state agencies is as defective as they come, not only is it so elementary and useless from a scientific, religious, medical point of view, but it also is useless from providing harm reduction. The irony is in the creation of Nixon’s self-made Controlled Substances Act of 1970 the following was the original principal: Classification decisions are required to be made on criteria including potential for abuse (an undefined term),[2][3] currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and international treaties..
Nixon’s own ultra-conservative commission delegated to provide sound, reasonable recommendations in establishing the policy were all but ignored.
Wikipedia re: Shafer Commission: Part F of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 established the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse—known as the Shafer Commission after its chairman, Raymond P. Shafer—to study marijuana abuse in the United States.[4] During his presentation of the commission’s First Report to Congress, Shafer recommended the decriminalization of marijuana in small amounts, saying, “[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only ‘with the greatest reluctance.”
Conclusion: Our Federal government is broken, not current with the times; ignorant in the face of profiting from it’s ignorance; no regard for honest, science based policies of harm reduction in this country.
The Drug War is Escalating, only under a new name.
Homeland Security. Anyone who uses cannabis is a treat to this nations security under the new guidelines. Demand for illegal substances must be wiped out, and only then will Mexico see an end to the mounting death-toll by terrorists trafficking drugs.
The lessons of alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century are lost on the federal Gov’t, simply because that was Americans doing the manufacturing and distribution. “DRUGS on the other hand is an international threat. If cannabis didn’t grow in Mexico, there’d be no international threat. But it does. It goes everywhere around the world.
The time has come for the rise of the Anti-Christ, to bring God into court in chains. The manufacturing of these substances must be stopped, and ultimately God is to blame.
Elect Gov. Rick Perry and he will see God is brought to his knees… the Gov. speaks to his own god, through his own church, and it is not the god that created the plants of the earth for humans to consume as they pleased. His god has rules, strict rules, and those rules will save America, and bring extraordinary profits to the Pharma Industries, the Big Corps that control the world, but also rewrite the principals of the US Constitution.
It is time for American to be an example of what Democracy really is: Strict, and unscientifically based control of a population. The Devil is in the Details…
Both parties stink! Can’t trust any of them, liar,cheats,theives. I can’t stand any of them.Any of them will tell you what you want to hear, but does nothing about any thing, when elected. The people they put in for the DEA,FBI,CIA they are all in on this together.Why would they legalize marijuana, when they all, can make a ton of money on it. And destroy live at the same time. This goverment dosen’t care about us, especially if it is illegal(marijuana), but you can drink yourself into a drunken stupper… But hey, thats legal!!!!
110. Jeanne
None of it [not a single bit of it] makes sense – does it?
Why do we suppose that is? The answer is as plain as the nose on our face. This is why God wiped us out the first time – and – he’s about to flush the toilet again.
Politics is just getting what you want. Well! The DEA is a great politician – because – they’re sure getting what they want. Case dismissed – court adjourned.
The Republicans will not legilize marijuana, no how, no way!!!! They don’t want any thing to stop the funding they get from marijuana. I think it is high time they all get drug tested!! They can drink till they are in a stuper then get stopped for a ticket, then they get, what a alap. Like I said we need another goverment that is more friendly than the parties we have , they are not American friendly!It is time we impeach all of them!!!!
In some states, judges are elected and must campaign, which means raise monies for ads, TV spots, radio and signs. I don’t know what you have to do to run, but it would be fun to be a judge. Throw out any cases that deal with pot. Jury Nullification is a way to get laws undone. Go to jury duty, hope you get on a drug case and have the person set free!
114. Mark
Just demand a jury of your piers. Your piers are 12 Qualified Patients. Disqualify a jury that opposes the state’s compassionate use law.
Drug Enforcement Agency, translated means, the government agency that enforces (controls) the world drug trade. This is nothing more than a taxpayer funded drug ring guised as a government agency for the “good of the people” and that is why the DEA needs to be dismantled. What a waste of valuable resources ($$) that could be going to educating our young people, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and making this a better country.
Great article.