THE BEST 4 MINUTES ABOUT MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION YET SPOKEN—Do your part—Help this piece go viral! G.R.
By George Rohrbacher, NORML Board of Directors, medical marijuana patient
In the decade that I’ve been on NORML’s board, I’ve worked with scores of bright, accomplished and passionate advocates for ending America’s 74-years of marijuana prohibition. Like never before, these voices are building into a chorus calling for the end of this cruel prohibition, whose penalties are suffered most by the poor, the young and people of color. This disastrous prohibition has led to the arrest of over 22 million Americans on marijuana charges since 1965.
Last week, dripping with irony, at the very same time the Obama Administration was stiffing the American public’s most popular action petition (for marijuana legalization) and was declaring all-out war on medical marijuana through the DOJ, IRS, etc., at this very same moment in history, we saw the huge verification of the success of NORML’s steady approach, the fruit of decades of work changing public opinion on subject of pot legalization. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1969, WHEN GALLUP POLLS STARTED ASKING THE QUESTION—50% OF AMERICANS NOW BELIEVE MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGAL!!
Reflecting on achieving this auspicious milestone of public opinion, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell gives America the very best 4 min. on marijuana legalization we have ever heard. He asks the question, how public opinion could have grown to 50%, while support in the US Senate for legalization still stays at 0%. How, he asks, can America’s politicians, law enforcement and judges callously stand by while millions of young lives are wrecked by marijuana prohibition?
O’Donnell, formerly chief of Staff for the Senate Finance Committee, has gone toe-to-toe with the movers and shakers in government many times before. But this time, on the subject of marijuana legalization, O’Donnell does some of his finest work. With arguments as razor-sharp as a battle axe, he relentlessly chops away at the system that gives us marijuana prohibition and enforced by alcohol-sodden public officials stewing in hypocrisy. O’Donnell’s piece should be linked to all marijuana-related communications you send out in the coming year, sent to everyone on your email list, every single public official.
Please, help this piece go VIRAL, where it belongs!
I had already seen this… It just about gives me a joy boner (see John Stewart last week for the reference) watching it.
THIS is what we need… Credible people calling the govt lies out!
Make a commercial out of this NORML!
Seems so obvious a child could grasp it. Oh, I forget, the children want it to stay illegal, so they can still buy it.
If the GOP hopefulls are advertising on this page…we’re getting money from the GOP to advance our society.Funny that.
If I can give O’Donnell 100 thumbs up, I would.I couldn’t help but cheer him on for his choice of words directed towards the Obama administration. Its hypocrisy, there are people in the government who are getting high and not just on Marijuana.One of the politicians in Los Angeles got busted for smoking Heroin! But they classify Marijuana with Heroin?!?!WTF Heroin you can over dose, MJ you can’t. So a lil confused why there in the same category.Anyone can figure that one out. Its more that MJ, it’s about money = Greed.I feel things are going to change pretty soon. The people are tired and restless.
I have a chronic pain condition and have gone through all the legal OTC and prescription “pain killers”; all of which had to be discontinued ‘due to adverse reactions’. My only hope for relief is medical marijuana. Unfortunately Republicans got control of the Iowa House this session and Iowans’ hope for the legalization of medical marijuana in the state was dashed. My doctor is willing to prescribe medical marijuana (MMJ) for me if and when it becomes legal. I know of many people with pain conditions who use marijuana to get by. And if you ask any law enforcement officer (LEO) if s/he’d rather go on a call to bust up a party with alcohol or with marijuana, virtually all LEOs would choose the latter. To have alcohol and cigarettes/tobacco products legal and marijuana illegal is incongruent, aside from just being stupid. Politicians need to stop being stupid and be realistic and legalize marijuana at the federal level. That is the opinion of the majority of American People – WE, THE PEOPLE want marijuana legalized. Can you hear us, Mr. President?
Its a class a drug yeah right there with cocaine n other stuff that’s stupid but the govt can sale legal heroin hmmm.mmm.m the American people have got to stand up prescriptions are killing more people now then alcohol which kills more people 2nd we can only ruin our lives with their drugs
anyone who reads this, click that big Herman Cain banner and write his campaign telling him if he wants a tax plan to include MJ. MJ’s tax revenue potential is phenomenal and im sure a shrewd businessman like Cain wouldnt be able to resist.
This guy hit it on the nail perfectly. These guys will continue to get high on alcohol A much more harmful and violent drug. But Marijuana will remain illegal. Why you ask because it is not in the interest of big pharma to have marijuana legal. Imagine if marijuana were legal and we didn’t need half of big pharma’s drugs because marijuana can work more effectively. They stand to lose money.
It also a shame that veterans like Montel Williams is denied medicine that helps him, by our federal government. But at the same time our government is still giving marijuana to 5 patients every month. That is hypocrisy at it’s finest.
Our government is sick in the head. Following these fascist polices will lead to a revolution and a new form of government. A government that leaves people free to make their own choices as long as those choices don’t infringe on the rights of others. A government that is not bought out by big corporations. One that serves the people, A government for the people by the people. Only when people are free to live their lives the way they want can we begin to be prosperous. We must fight harder. I call for 10 million people to march Washington and protest in front of congress and the white house. They will not stop us and we will win. America can be great if we are willing to fight for it. We may lose some lives but those people will not be forgotten. They will be remembered like those who fought the first time for freedom. It will be a long fight but we the people of the United States of America will take back our government. Who is with me!!!
Vive la Revolution!!!!!!
No president ever going to legalize MJ.
I’m posting this everywhere. It’s freaking beautiful. I feel like I have never seen a mainstream journalist ever bring up that drinking is exactly another form of drug abuse/use (AND that weed is healthier on top of that! It’s like a multiple orgasm by proxy a 4 minute clip!) and I’m just… moved with many emotions of joy and yay and FINALLY THANK YOU.
Its a good video pointing out the difference between public opinion and that of elected officials. Although I rarely drink, I feel they came down a little hard and those who like to drink, but I suppose it does sound harsh when you define alchohol use in the bluntest of terms. (No pun intended)
Our President, and our Politicians do not think that there is a God in Heaven. They should re read the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
One of my few joys of day dreaming is wondering what their judgement will be like when they stand before God for destroying all these lives because of a plant that the devil and all his minions hate.
Hell = a place where the worm dieth not and the fire never goes out.
IE = Our Politicians next assignment. Sorry I will not be able to help you people out there, I will be with Lazarus.
Love the video! My ONLY suggestion to all of us who support this cause is we discipline ourselves to only use the term “CANNABIS” when speaking to uneducated but curious folks! Language matters! Let’s Grow Together!
I watched this with a HUGE grin the other day. Mr. O’Donnell’s comments were so spot on that I forwarded the video link to everyone I know that has ever doubted my knowledge, opinions, or use of medical marijuana and got some surprisingly positive feedback. What he said has been everything that I’ve tried to tell people and then some. He was eloquent and to the point. Thought provoking and firm in his conviction. Something that all of us in this battle should aspire to be like.
When this video goes viral, as it most likely will, it will only help to push this cause further and further into the public eye. The government can only keep up the charade for so long before the people react. Just look at the Gallup poll. We’ve finally reached *that* point where the tide has turned. People are realizing that all of those misconceptions and outright lies were wrong.
I see a change on the horizon. A change for the good. Not the type of change that our soon-to-be-EX-president promised and then failed to deliver. But a change in the public opinion about legalization. At least for medical use. It’s coming folks. Hang in there… it’s coming. 🙂
I am a convicted marijuna fellon. Getting arrested was no big deal, was in jail for two days. Now I am on probation and must quit the herb I have smoked recreationaly for 30 plus years….great, but still no big deal (yet). But what really sux, is the forfeture laws. During the two days I was in jail, The goverment took everything I own, EVERYTHING. This is not part of the criminal case, it is civil so it is not considered part of my punishment. This is why it will remain illegal, so they can steal smokers stuff.
They have marijuana in schedule I class with heroin as the most dangerous drug with no medical value.
They have cocaine in schedule II, less dangerous class and drugs with medical value.
Just remember they could care less about the effects of marijuana on you. If you live or die. Its sad but we live in a country thats all about money. All the politicians get money for there campaining from the companies that want to keep marijuana illegal. Big money, from many alchohol and pharma companies. As long as there is greed there will be a fight to get it legalized.
ONE CORRECTION – Rand Paul is at least one senator who is against federal laws concerning marijuana. Not sure about where he stands with his state.
He wants the decisions to go the states, which would mean a handful of the 16 states with medicinal marijuana already on the books might legalize soon. The rest would eventually follow as it would simply be much more unrealistic for remaining states with bans to enforce. Couple that with the swiftly changing public opinion, it will happen once the politicians get real pressure.
Hillary said it best – “There’s too much money in it to legalize it.” What a bunch of rip off artists. I no longer view politician’s as representatives of We the People – but rather – “low down crooks – lower than whale shit in the dead sea.”
Great editorial! We’ve had enough fear mongering from the Senator McCarthy types, it’s long past time for those in the main stream media to stand up against the cruel and inhuman lies and hypocrisy!
Personally I want to see more like this. More “big name” people in public venues, on TV and radio, directly challenge the EVIL LIES that shroud us in the darkness which is prohibition.
RE the comments on cocaine, the World Health Organization conducted a report (which was murdered by our own govt.) on cocaine, the results would probably surprise you.
https://ChristiansAgainstProhibition.org/node/579
I have been a smoker of cannibus for over forty years. A “heavy” smoker at that. I started in Viet Nam to soothe my nerves and continued in the states because of ptsd and major depression.
I don’t believe everybody will ever believe cannibus is safe. There will always be the nay-sayers who refuse to believe anything. But this video should wake up most of us who are sleeping as our government takes away our freedoms and rights in the name of a “drug” war. Cudos to the author!
Way to go!! Two thumb up. so true very true!!
I personally think marijuana should be decriminalized so it will not be taxed/over taxed, but the economy would really be helped out and given jobs to the people that need it the most…. Join The 420 Club on google +
Give me a break! I’d much rather be with pot smokers than drunks! Most drunks want to fight, be nasty, get loud, etc. When people I know smoke, they chill and get the munchies, and I’m 63 years old.
They are afraid they can’t tax it, but I’ll most of them smoke reefer!
LEGALIZE IT NOW!
Oh, I meant to say I’ll bet most of them smoke reefer!
Man, this message tells it all point blank!
he should be awarded for saying all that
This is a start on a good path.We need people that have louder voices than us.The little guy!For the people out there that want leaglization need to go about it a new way.Dont show them how much yoou want it show them how much money can be made on it.As im sure u know marijuana can be used for many positive ways.Not just getting high!New cash crop think about it.
There won’t be any pro legalization video’s soon if SOPA passes,In my opinion.I believe it’s another ploy to keep us separate,I think they fear us.
Corruption of lawmakers in key positions by Big-Pharma CEO’s. (www.contact-the-ceo.com) Now, if we could only get this same type of info on politicians, these State Corporations would have a much harder time of enacting their Fascism against the intent of a majority of Americans when it involves issues like Medical Marijuana. As always jurisprudence!
This seems like a spoof video…
very nice
Sorry to burst the rhetoric bubble but America has NEVER been a Democracy. It is, and always has been, a Republic, the people do not get to vote on what is or is not legal, the Representatives they elect are * Supposed* to represent the people’s wishes. Obviously they do not…
If you can FIND a political representative who is really Pro-Cannibus VOTE FOR THEM….And hope they aren’t just telling you a bunch of alcohol sodden lies.
Just don’t hold your breath hoping to find many politicians who aren’t hypocrites.
Oh, and while you’re at it
vote AGAINST the morons who continue the practice of throwing in prison people who “commit” victimless, artificial “crimes”.
And that would include our fearless leader would it not?
I love pot, it free’s my soul. I will do all i can to help the corruption of the marijuana plant. anyone wants to help me my email is BUDBOMB420@yahoo.com
it is way past time for legalization. i cannot believe it is still class 1 and compared to heroin? give me a break! i have a neuro/back cond. and i’d rather smoke than die from the meds and side effects. having native amican indian,i’d rather go natural. i also think it’s none of anyone’s business what goes in my body and comes out my butt,pretty much of the ultimate personnal civil violation. my body my choice.
Voting is supposed to be our voices being heard…. It’s a shame when it falls on deaf ears. Medical Marijuana should be put on the ballot in every State. Then maybe the Federal Government will Listen and pass a Bill to Change the Federal Law. No President that I know of in my lifetime has been able to over-ride Congress, nor does he have immunity from the Law. Ever wonder what the legal issues would be for him (Mr. President you could be Impeached) ? So start emailing, calling or writing Your State Senators after all We The People Voted them in and that is what they get paid for, to be the peoples voice. I for one believe that Marijuana has allot of Medicinal Purposes, has no additives, or preservatives, and is not addicting. But Marijuana is an illegal Narcotic and classified higher than Cocaine, all I can say is ignorance and the media. But everyday people get Addicted, Overdose or DIE on LEGAL Prescription Narcotics and other Pharmaceutical Prescriptions or even Alcohol, most of these have severe withdrawals, allot of people need rehab (somethings wrong with this picture) ? I am only one voice (Freedom of Speech) and the ignorant need to read about it themselves, its called knowledge ! (So please call me an ambulance ! I am overdosing from smoking too much Marijuana because I had a severe anxiety attack ! Baker Act me, send me to rehab ! ) Get Real and Use Your Voice ! This is the Best News I have heard in a long time !
Who the heck ever voted for this federal pirate raider! Don’t you see the violence this does to the notion of using the system by petitioning at the crack of dawn to redress peacefully this grievance? When will she get the idea to arrest the birds!
If the 50% of Americans that favour full legalization were to send just S 1.00 to each politician that supports legalization and an empty envelope to each politician who favors prohibition. I think that may really be the only way to get the pols attention
Out of state money flowing from individuals nationwide
Imagine: A state politician running for the senate suddenly inundated with piles of cash
Common people it’s just a buck and the entertainment value alone …
I would suggest using whatever social media, Facebook, Twitter blogs and whatever to link to this video and other pro-marijuana articles .
The ONLY way things are going to change is if the vast majority of the people start to understand the pack of lies that they have been told by our government regarding this beneficial plant, and start to realize the hypocrisy of the government outlawing it while subsidizing the tobacco industry which kills thousands of Americans each year.
IF public opinion can be swayed in favor of decriminalization or legalization perhaps someday this idiotic draconian policy of incarceration and the destruction of lives due to a freaking harmless plant might someday stop.
Educate the public.
They should legalize it.think of the revenue it could bring in and help wipe out the debt.
The FBI stands for a ”failing bunch of idiots”. Need i say more? I wonder if they even know what a government is or supposed to do? REFORM , RENEW = REVENUE!
Anti Hypocrisy, Congress, and booze. I say lets have a sea change here and start throwing drunk drivers in PRISON to replace the spaces taken up by non violent potheads and street level pot dealers
The DUI’s are more likely to re offend and really are loose cannons that do way more damage do way more damage to society then potheads
This should keep the Prison Industrial Folks happy common guys I know Handling drunks is a pain Yea I know they fight and throw up and all constantly trying to make pruno ,,, Suck it up it’s hard times,
Now for all you DEA guys not working for the CIA your gonna switch over to the ABC and along with the FBI and Homeland Security make sure that non-profiled persons of middle eastern extraction are not in fact poisoning our children by supplying them with dangerous substances tobacco and alcohol.
There is of course no evidence that our children are in Any danger at all because the are not but ya gotta admit it makes one hell cool sound bite Thank god we saved all those jobs and managed to waist the money on a much better sounding program
Ok so if you take one of these seeds throw it in the ground give it water and sun. Given the ability to be grown almost anywhere. With the powers to almost make anything you need from food to rope to paper to kindling for fire building to renewable fuel resource. It has been on this earth since day one. It has been illegal for almost fifty plus years and not only has it stayed around but also became better and almost to a perfection. We all realize cannabis prohibition does way more harm then good. We are the people we are the tax payees. I say we go to Washington and speak for ourselves. Project D.C. 420-March to the capitol…. A Facebook event has been created now support it! Consider your next 4/20 with us. 4/20/2012!
Ron Paul is the only Presidential candidate who would end the drug war. VOTE RON PAUL 2012
We need more people to step up and be heard! He is very spot on everything he says. If anyone has an opinion, make a youtube video or something; just get it out there! We need to make our government know marijuana needs to be legalized. We’re almost there everybody!!
If America really wanted to get high, then they need to suffer for a while, like Martin Luther King did. Stop working, go on strike. Tell the government that you don’t agree with the way they throw themselves into the hole, by making a flower of nature, worth more then the money itself. By making money easy to grow and banning marijuana, of course they are in debt. Protest, everyone smoke a blunt at the same time, out in the street, in front of the whitehouse, just keep rebelling until the jails fill up beyond belief. plant it everywhere, let it grow. and all I can say is, stand up for the community, and man up. The US doesn’t deserve anything, the way they control us and generate crime for their own gain. Then they make you bleed so that it looks fair.
I agree marijuana should be legal i could argue all day that point. but it would make a difference which is so wrong. you never here about people killing there family’s, getting in to car accidents, beating their wives or robbing stores because they use marijuana. not only do people not do crazy stuff like that people also don’t have their livers shutting down or any other terrible side effects because marijuana like alcohol or any of the superscribed drugs do like xanex which you get secures from.”but you get lung cancer from pot” the truth is anything you smoke is bad if you had a pot brownie there would be no risk of that.!!!!!!!!!!
The Federal Reserve Bank is under investigation for TREASON and The RICO ACT.along with the Bushes Who funded Hitler and are related to the Rothschild and Rockefellers who funded every War with Standard Oil furnished all sides of every War with the products to run the War.
The controlled substance act was fronted by Henry Anslinger whos wife is a heir to the Fed Reserve.
End THE FED END WAR , Poverty, Taxes, Drug wars, Crime and Government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GOICD5YX-Q With almost 3 million hits…THIS IS THE PRO-MARIJUANA VIDEO THAT ALREADY WENT VIRAL AND IS CLIMBING. Oh, I made that one…
@wash-voter I disagree when I was a teenager getting alcohol was easier then getting weed trust me I did both regularly. There are no kids against the legalization for this reason so stop being rude.
Great speech but as always it is falling on deaf ears.
Just think of the repercussions if, you all sent these posts to your congressman instead of wating them talking to each other.
Takes the same or even less effort to email the hypocrites.
The government makes more money keeping marijuana illegal than they would if it were legal and taxed. Google it, I’m not going to explain it here when others already have better than I can. Perhaps when the next generation is in office we’ll see some changes.
He speaks with power and authority.
I have to rant a little:
The next best thing marijuana reformists can do would be to move completely away from the web advertisements that feature scantily clad women posing in pornographic positions. That sends the wrong message. There are a lot of people who believe, albeit falsely, that marijuana is some sort of weird, maniacal aphrodisiac. It is mostly certain NOT!
Please, please, whoever you may be (and I’m not pointing the finger at NORML), please seriously rethink your advertisements, and who you associate with, like, for instance, that old playboy. He and his ilk NEED TO GO before I give anymore of my financial support to this cause because THAT’S the underlying reason why so many people have wrongly believed for decades now that cannabis is a dangerous drug.
Missie
Been Smokin weed for about 10 years every day. I am about to turn 24 and have reoccurring flair ups in my mouth, where my mouth turns red and hurts. DONT FORGET PEOPLE SMOKING ANYTHING IS BAD FOR YOU!! if u are sitting there reading this getting high, thinking your not doing your body harm, you better be vaporizing. Talked to dentist today (not real appointment b/c insurance will go up if i go to my real dentist or physician and tell them I smoke weed.) and he mentioned MOUTH CANCER.. Hope not!!
This all goes to prove the farce of freedom in the USA. Politicians are in fear of voicing the oppinion of the people on pot, becouse of our millitary machine we have become in the USA. Everyone is living in fear of the MAN or GOVT as it were. Some time in the future a country, probably France, because they don’t have us troops on there soil. Will stand up and get off the American Tit. They will here the voice of the people, and listen. I think it is ironic they gave us the statue of liberty.
OH GEEZ, that last sentence! I think I woke up everybody in the house with my laughter…
@Shitbird —
I hope not for you as well. Thank you for posting. Could you please keep us updated on your diagnosis/recovery?
While I do agree with many of the points brought to light, I have to say that I disagree with the approach from a basis of changing public opinion.
Yes, Alcohol is a legal inebriating substance, however the issues with its use are well publicized and in many circles just as feared as Marijuana. Pointing to the downfalls of alcohol and saying, “Weed should get a chance, too!” Doesn’t do anything but paint a far too simple picture of the issue.
The message of legalization should be represented with a pragmatic look at potential benefits AND potential hazards with well-reasoned legislation in direct answer to available medical and social information. Arguments such as this one, while impassioned and certainly gratifying to see, serves as its own message of hypocrisy: By describing another inebriating substance in such blunt and (at many times) plainly disapproving language, Mr O’Donnell has succeeded in painting the same sort of one-sided, black-and-white picture that would be decried as propaganda were it to come from the opposition.
We need to change how information is presented, not use the methods we claim to detest when it serves our own benefit.
@ Explicit Sarcasm, sticking strictly to what Mr. O’Donnell said (vs. the comments here), I must applaud him for not falling into the trap many reformers have, i.e. the vilification of alcohol. Reformers who vilify alcohol are walking right into the trap the Prohibitionists want them in. Personally I did not get a single tiny hint from his impassioned editorial he is condemning alcohol or it’s use.
But perhaps this is where we agree, many reformers do condemn alcohol, and later ask ~ “do we want alcohol prohibition again?” fortunately most people say, “no.” But I think these reformers are neglecting to notice there are lots of people, and very monied people (foundations), who definitely want to see alcohol use criminalized again. “Squeezed out” of societal use as Darth Walters has said.
Ok, I just watched his video again, I’ve only seen it 3 or 4 times. He does say that cannabis is a “much much” healthier choice.
That alcohol AND marijuana have well documented health benefits should not be disputed. That both have the potential to cause problems is also true (as does water, as does sugar, as does potato chips, …). But most reasonable people, and I’m taking this to include you since you sound so reasonable :-), would agree that it’s much easier to overdo it with alcohol than pot.
But I must defend O’Donnell, he doesn’t speak ill of, or condemn, alcohol one bit. Personally I like alcohol. I hate drinking too much, and for me “too much” is much less than being drunk, I really hate being drunk.
Perhaps part of the information you’d like presented is that it’s much more difficult to gauge one’s level of “high” with alcohol than with cannabis? I.e. it’s much easier to be cocky and over-confident while “high” on alcohol than pot. I’m quite sure I’ve said this before, and I know I’ve read it many times on the net.
They are the Gods and Canabis is the forbidden fruit. After all it would be disastrous for the economy. Can one imagine 1/2 of all prison employe, cops, lawyers, Judges, etc… on welfare.
Very well put ! Someone needed to say it. Thank god you did!!!!!!!! Legalize it!
no one has ever died from the pot. dead from stupid, yes, but is wasnt the pot, it was the low spark of highheeled boys!!
Marijuana should be legalized-no doubt. My sons smoke every day, and they would rather smoke than drink alcohol, which gives them headaches and hangovers, but pot does not. Everyone in this country should have the legal right to grow their own pot, in their own gardens as it has certain uses. It is a freaking plant for goodness sakes. It should be no ones’ business what we do in the privacy of our own homes, especially not the governments.
Jim, presidents don’t make the laws. It’s Congress, OK? But thanks for your little two cents’ worth.
time to legalizee itt !! you said it and it’s truee !! marijuana is better for you than alcohol !
There is no moral excuse for taking away financial aid from pot smokers while allowing rapists and those convicted of assault into universities as though this makes perfect sense. In my town, they’ve been releasing rapists early to deal with the intake of potheads. This is not about public safety. This is about public control. Marijuana has killed ZERO people to date. Every year, prescription drugs kill over 25,000 people. Tobacco kills over 450,000 every year. If you’re so scared of people getting ‘high,’ you better outlaw adrenaline (including pranks and theme parks) and spirituality, too. Those have both been proven to induce ‘intoxicating’ effects.
Federal Govt should leave Marijuana laws and regulations to the states. Each State should decide laws and regulations for itself. Keep the taxes, graft and corruption where they belong. State, town, and city governments is where the political payoffs should go. We would all be smoking big fat doobies in a hot new york minute should that come to pass.
It is a great news story, and I fully agree with the alcohol being more dangerous notion. It is a fact that marijuana is safer, has never, EVER caused an O.D. and one can imbibe it in a slew of way, not just smoking. What they need to focus on also is prescription drugs and OTC drugs that can be even more dangerous. I say treat it just like alcohol, sold by licensed “stores” 21 and over, if you are DUI then you face the same penalties as alcohol. I mean, really who cares what you do in your free time if it doesn’t hurt anyone else?
Trouble is the drug cartels have their hand in politics and legalization would destroy their market. Don’t be stupid and think otherwise. It’s the same with tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies too, they’ve got a huge money sign tightly wrapped around Government’s neck, so don’t get your hopes up. Best we can hope for is decriminalization.
beautiful.
The fed.s are addicted to the $$$$$ which can only be generated by keeping the price of marijuana at artificially high prices . The fed.s also enjoy a great utility in having an easy reason to arrest tokers, not the least of which is to keep a steady business in rehab centers . ;/)
Oh yea marijuana turned me gay! It should stay illegal because I hate being gay in this country!
I’ve never done any kind of substance to get me high and I’ve only drank a few times in my life to get buzzed or plastered. I get high on life though… in a very real way: I have bipolar disorder. If I want to get high, I take a day OFF my medication and enjoy a little mania. I’m responsible about it though. I plan it out.
So, that being said, just because I don’t drink or get high doesn’t mean that people around me who do are any more crazy than I am. I say stop the war on drugs and let the people govern themselves. Just so they are doing it responsibly (i.e. not drinking AND driving) I don’t think there’s a problem.
Remember during the prohibition years? There were scandals left and right! And not because the moonshiners were privately and illegally serving the public by bootlegging, but more dangerously because the government was abusing their powers to confiscate what was rightfully the individual brewer’s.
Just my two cents.
the video is not visible on the site whats up?
never heard of dope smoking and driving and no mj did not make you gay lol
While I do understand medical marijuana I cannot condone unregulated use. Just like alcohol, few deaths would be caused by actual consumption (more with alcohol that marijuana) but so many more would be caused by marijuana if it were legalised. Marijuana can cause psychosis, even in first time users or those who have had no issues for x long, it can cause accidents like alcohol can, and as already posted here can cause various issues depending on the path of consumption such as cancers from smoking it. If you all believe that you have no issues from smoking pot, take some time off the stuff and think about your life. If you don’t see some improvements from quitting for a significant portion of time you need to think about why you started smoking it in the first place, what you’re getting high to try and get away from and deal with that instead of running away from it.
In response to another comment posted, but yes I would rather the rapists in jail than people using pot, but why are you umming and ahhing about the law? If it is illegal (which you all act as though you know) why are you doing it in the first place? You may not be intending to hurt anyone but one day you probably will, and no not to the same degree but you’re flirting with incarceration the entire time and willing to throw your life away over some plant? Again, you need to sort out your life if a high is worth the known risk of jail time.
To Jeremy, you must realise with staying away from substances like marijuana and alcohol, that they can increase the risks of bipolar episodes? Which, if people were able to smoke down the street like they can cigarettes, you may have a manic episode triggered just trying to get home from work? Second hand smoke is real in both marijuana and tobacco, and can be very very quick. I have walked home from the train station and people in the underpass have been smoking pot, and I’ve come home and needed to put myself to bed for two days to get back my sanity.
Please guys, think about all of this.
2:10
Screw the current rank of politicians, time to take over the primaries and get a new lot in who will listen to the people. It is as easy as that, you really want change, then the only place to do it is in the primaries.
sam
you sir are an idiot
Sam, It didn’t work, go back to bed. I have produced thousands of wonderful objects and achieved thousands of valuable goals (some of which were quite a stretch)while having hundreds of thousands of “hits” of cannabis. Although “God” supposedly said that all “he” created was good,humans have singled out this and a few other plants for persecution. Perhaps you could take some serious time off from your fear and angst related to what others do, long enough to understand why you took those positions in the first place. I’m sure that we can all think of dozens, if not hundreds of times that alcohol has negatively affected our lives and those of our loved ones. Other than your claim that second hand smoke put you to bed for two days to regain your sanity, I have not heard of any adverse affect of pot. Prohibition, yes, not the pot. If we are to believe your story, it begs us to ask a serious question, “How’s your reality doing lately?” My heart goes out to you if you really are that fragile that the essence of a burning weed could put you over the edge like that.
concerned for your welfare, Tony C. Saladino
If we cna get medicinal marijuna legalised,it will have to be regualted plain and simple.There will have to also be restrictions out into place as to who is elegable and who isn’t.If we can achieve this it will open the door to make the VA’s prescibe it to disabled vets such as myself
Mistake #1 in this video… The United States is NOT a democracy, we are a REPUBLIC… Mob rule is dangerous. Look up the difference between these two systems sometime when you’re high.
The fact that 50% of the general public supports legalization and yet there is still 0% Senate support really just goes to show that the government is not listening to the people. Per usual. As for judges and stuff being on welfare, while legalizing pot may reduce the need for those particular callings it would also create a new job source and a new US commerce. Just sayin…
@Sam In your post on January 5th, you identified yourself as one of the people in this country that shouldn’t be allowed to vote because of your overall stupidity.
http://wh.gov/kVy sign please. its worth a shot eh?
If the U.S. made Marijuana legal they could tax it so high it would eventually bring our economy back to normal, but they never will because the Cartel pays congress millions of dollars to not legalize so they can make millions off of it by selling it illegally because it will always be in high demand.
Has anyone noticed that his Gallup poll graph looks eerily similar to a lit joint…?
This should get some Senators on the platform.
Thanks.
I forgot to mention. I am on a liver transplant waiting list beause of the “legal” stuff.
RE: Sam says:
January 5, 2012 at 11:59 am
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I do not think you are knowledgeable about the dynamics of marijuana high – The marijuana high can vary with other factors affecting the matter , but generally , marijuana use causes a temporary state of meditation and reduced inhibition , thus resulting in one having thoughts outside the normal range , mostly of the more humane sort and also more creative . After the marijuana effects wear off , one is no worse for the experience , IMHO , better for it . At the moment , I’m perfectly straight , but almost every evening I have a few tokes of premium bud . It makes for a couple of hours of increased physical and mental energy . It causes me to be more philosophical and intensifies the sensation of other things like conversation and entertainment . While high , I also am more thankful about good things in life . The night light / shadows and other natural phenomena are more apparent . In summary , marijuana use temporarily alters one’s mental state , (mostly for the better) and one usually benefits from the experience even after the effects of the high wear off . The war against several tens of millions of U.S. citizens is far worse than all the marijuana use . Even if people could absolutely be stopped from using cannabis , IMHO , many would move on to more dangerous substances , consider Whitney Houston’s recent death . If all she had done was use marijuana , she would still be quite alive .
I enjoyed reading all the comments .
High five to all ! ;/)
RE: Cosmo says:
February 13, 2012 at 4:57 pm
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🙁 Oh goodness ! It saddens me to hear that your liver was damaged by “legal stuff” .
I’m not gonna argue. All I’m saying is that i got pulled over for speeding got a ticket and busted for possession in california. All I did was pay $65 to go to a substance abuse class and got both charges dismissed. Stop arguing and move to California.
being able to smoke marijuana is your constitutional right plain and simple.
@Anonymous
I agree, the gov’t spends millions, scratch that, BILLIONS of taxpayers money each year funding the “War on Drugs”. However, most of this money is going towards that (and probably into fat cats pockets) instead of back into the communities. Regulating and taxing the product instead of spending money getting rid of it just makes sense to me. Apparently the government likes to limit how much common sense it uses.
He was doing good there until the end..i dont know how they can sleep at night, whithout the booze…so he supports making alchohol ilegal?
@bobabaloo
No, his end point is actually very strong. He’s saying (in a literal sense) that they have to inebriate themselves in order to live with themselves (over marijuana criminalization and arrests), which showcases the hypocrisy of marijuana prohibition while other, potentially fatal, ways of getting inebriated are legalized–and often endorsed/used–by the very same politicians.
Simply, it concludes the point that innocent people are thrown in jail for consuming a harmless substance (in comparison to many OTC drugs, not to mention recreational drugs) while people do nothing about it and willingly accept a hypocritical system (thus, being hypocrites themselves and compounding the problem by consuming a harmful, inebriating substance).
That’s about as in-depth as I can get over one small, pathos statement.
the graph he showed looked like a penis.
Dear shitbird… you’re an idiot.
To the guy saying his doctor warned him about mouth cancer from marijuana… you’re doctor is an idiot (unless you also smoke tobacco). Lets just do some basic logical thinking here. Tobacco causes cancer when you, smoke it, snort it, or chew it. Why is it that we have assumed smoking is what is bad here? You have a product that causes cancer no matter which way it is ingested and you assume that smoke must be the cause? The obvious explanation is that other substances in tobacco are what causes cancer, not the act of smoking itself.
On another note: How many cases of pure marijuana users (those who don’t also smoke tobacco) get cancer in the mouth throat or lungs? Guess what? There are ZERO recorded cases. In fact there is more evidence to show marijuana cures cancer than that causes it.
Regardless of how you “feel” about Marijuana having it illegal is bad. Look at Heroin: in 1970 it was about 30 dollars a bag and 5-20% pure drug; now its about 5 dollars for the same size bag and is 90-96% pure drug…adjusting for inflation that is around a 9000% decrease in price (meaning the war on drugs made it cheaper, stronger, and more widely available).
Look at the Netherlands where you can buy it in a store. They have almost no smokers below the age of 18 (where here in the US its estimated as much as half of all weed smokers are under 18). A store that sells weed isn’t going to sell to someone below 18 cause the risk of losing a license is too great, but a illegal drug dealer doesn’t even card you. Oh also because he is an illegal drug dealer and has no government oversight the weed he sells could be laced with anything.
No this is not a good video supporting legalizing marijuana. This guy uses all kinds of fallacious tactics no better than those used by the politicians he is trying to call out. This guy is an asshole, and instead of just reporting unbiased facts (which are good enough to support legalization of marijuana themselves), he goes and talks about the “alcohol soaked breath” of politicians, and how “we know the Obama administration isn’t this stupid.” Yeah… That’ll change peoples minds on the other side of the issue… Dicks like this guy don’t help, they just add to the mindless media debate fueled on logical fallacies, emotion, and wedge issues that have no chance being put in the forefront of public policy as long as they are being used as nothing more than their names suggest- wedges. Wedges that politicians and this asshole alike profit from. Come on NORML, you’re better than this.
great video but it doesnt quite tell the whole story check out leap.com
Weed should be free like water, we should be able to use it and grow it how we please, there is some things the government shouldn’t control.
dude..weed is so much easier to get than alcohol…you don’t need a 21 year old to get some bud man, there’s no age limit because its illegal for everyone(excluding medicinal users). for alcohol u have to get someone of age to go buy it for you. i can weed all by myself! lol
Well said Sir well said
“…without the booze.” LOL epic!
Yeah, this video isn’t a very good argument for legalization. Yes the politicians are hypocritical, we’ve always known that, but that dosn’t mean that it’s ok to legalize. He didn’t really go in depth with any of the actual good arguments.
amazing. couldnt agree more
@shockbeard I am a teenager and weed is easier to get than alcohol hands down.
Don’t push for legalization of marijuana. Do you really want it taxed and regulated like everything else? As well, right now is the perfect time to be a drug dealer. The government is essentially subsidizing your profits by keeping it illegal! Keep it illegal and just dont be stupid.
[Editor’s note: You’re right…let’s keep the massive arrest, prosecution and incarcerations going so that dealers can maintain absurd profit margins and to resist obvious regulatory policies for the sake of…keeping the prices high.
Not!
Cannabis legalization or bust.
Cannabis consumers’ creed: best bud, lowest price]
I have watched more pot-umentaries and more pro-legalizing videos than most people and of all of them these 4 minutes perfectly surmise every minute of them all. Well done MSNBC
@Shitbird do you smoke cigarets? because I have never heard of pot giving someone cancer but rather help or prevent it.
I have been smoking since i was 9 years old and I am almost 30 now, it helps me focus, and it helps me calm down as I have badd adhd, it also helps with my chronic back pains. I think that this medicine is being kept illegal because the government, which is controlled by the pharmaceutical companies and the bankers, would loose a lot of money. If you look at the plant as a whole and not just the part that gets you high you will see that it has a numerous amount of beneficial qualities. The hemp from the plant can be made into many things including fabric and plastic. With just these two elements we could build more sustainable vehicles, houses, clothing, things like plastic bags that would be more easily recycled, amongst other things. It is obvious that it all comes back to money.
elmn8h8 you hit the nail on the head, right on. The government is just holding us back by ignoring the great benefits of marijuana. We could be so much more if the people rose up a starting fighting for change.
Cannabis is a great plant however fear has been instaled into extremly easy targets parents we must end the fear instaled it starts with education that has been in action for as long as the PLANT has been illegal now we must take to the people without idiotic mudslinging but the truth simple now is our time
I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in 2009… I was told my insurance didn’t cover the treatment I needed and therefore went without treatment due to inability to pay out-of-pocket. A year and four months later, after no treatment whatsoever, but with near-daily marijuana use, I was 100% cured… with only “very slight scarring” to my cervix. My dr (who was not the same dr who diagnosed me because I had gone to a state hospital instead of my hometown doctor for more accurate diagnosis and updates) even said that without that “very slight scarring” he wouldn’t have even known that I had ever had the cancer… so… I’m all for legalization.. and was even before my medical situation.
?? Thank you Gordon ??
Cannabis should be controlled & taxed the same way cigarettes are. But this will never happen, not when they’re trying to criminalize smoking. Politicians prefer to keep people down, not offer them more freedoms. Government scientists who publish the “table of harm” usually get sacked – because policy is not about harm, it’s about economy. At the moment, in many countries, the suburban, lazy, pot heads are seeing immigrant workers invited to do their casual work & get first dibs on social housing – the rest of the working class suffer. They could lower the classification of weed & issue fines – except that most of the suburban, lazy pot-heads are on dole checks so couldn’t pay. So let’s brush them under the carpet instead.
i think lawrence odonnell should smoke some pot…
or has he already?
Looks like America is Finally realizing weed is not so bad! Now England need to follow suit, but being Americas bitch i’m sure we will be smoking in no time :)!
I liked this, then unliked it, just so I could like it again
alcohol while being extremely fun, should be illegal. It makes you so stupid. It is responsible for the vast majority of ER visits that are involved with any foreign substance. Anyone who has ever been the sober one around a bunch of drunk people, knows just how dumb alcohol makes you. And that is not including how awful the next day is.
I’m very pro marijuana, I just want to say that any smoke you breath has the potential to cause cancer, even vapour can induce it long term, not directly. BUT weed is not directly carcinogenic like tobacco, AND only 1 in a million or something will actually die from this kind of cancer, you’re so more likely to die getting up in the morning. As with anything for anyone with common sense, its about having everything in the right amounts. Everything in moderation people, including moderation!
this man makes a very very god point and i love that he made this known