58% support in Massachusetts for legalizing marijuana and regulating it as other agricultural commodities
Georgetown, MA – This evening, attendees at the Second Annual Massachusetts Cannabis Convention hosted by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition/NORML (MassCann/NORML) at the Crowne Plaza in Natick heard the major results of a live telephone poll conducted in November by DAPA Research Inc. of 600 Massachusetts voters with a margin of error of +/-4%.
The most significant findings:
*Fifty-eight percent (58%) support legalizing marijuana and regulating it in the same manner as other agricultural commodities with sales prohibited to underage persons (69% Democrats, 44% Republicans, 54% Other).
*Sixty-two percent (62%) are more likely to support legalization if the proposed law would regulate the cultivation and sale of marijuana to adults and tax it in the same manner as the state currently regulates alcohol (70% Democrats, 56% Republicans, 60% Other).
*Fifty-four percent (54%) oppose the federal government disregarding state law in states legalizing marijuana, while only 35% support the federal government’s disregarding state law.
“The data strongly suggests that Massachusetts voters are more ready than voters in any other state to end prohibition and establish reasonable regulation of cannabis cultivation and commerce for all purposes,” said Steven S. Epstein, a founder and currently an officer of MassCann/NORML. “The data also establishes that if the legislature does not enact a law allowing medical use of marijuana this session the voters will overwhelmingly, perhaps 80%+, approve the voter initiative for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana at the ballot box in November.”
“Legalization is essential to ending crime created by the prohibition of cannabis,” said Cara Crabb-Burnham, a member of MassCann/NORML’s Board of Directors. “It is important to recognize legal vendors will card customers and keep it out of the hands of children.”
* * *
For more information contact:
Michael Crawford, 978-502-4080
Attorney Steven Epstein, 978-352-3300
We’re gonna win this war, and I love it!
“prohibition will never work because a market will get created that will price its products based on the dangers of supply, the more danger, the greater the price, the whole Controlled Substance Act was just an excuse that encouraged only one thing; A greater disrespect for the law.” -A friend who’s no longer with us
Well Missouri , where’s our backbone. We even have a bootheel for prohibitional booting in the ass for them. Come on board MO. We need dispensaries here too! we still take care of people here just need better medicine. I’ve smoked cannabis since 1978 at 13yrs and now at 45yrs old i’m still alive. Boy were’nt they wrong about personal use. So why don’t we show them. I’m perminently disabled since 2004 not dead. Just too much mileage.
Isn’t it crazy! We are gonna win. I just keeping thinking it can’t actually happen, but then another step forward. We are pretty much running at this point, aren’t we?
Looks good.
This, shold not be good news. Nor, should it be sad.
The simple fact that up to or more then 42% those polled still want the ability to destroy someone’s LIFE over Cannabis/Marijuana.
This, is way beyond any Legal problem.
This, is a Social problem.
WE have slipped into a battle of absolutism. You are either right or wrong. A good balance, on issue’s with such profound effect, should go to the 2-1 vote, instead of 1-1.
This would prevent 1-2% of the population being able to destroy the lives of 48%.
Don’t vote for a name or a brand. Vote for what Should work, and then what Can work.
If the poor do not bring food to the rich, they only have their money to eat.
Watch the action’s of an individual, then listen to their word’s.
The shot heard round the world….
Potimism seems to be working. We need to keep truckin on until we win this war.
ethrrience the Play-Boy effect. for perhaps the’ Jimmy Conners” of the 70’s….with or without…..The Penthouse, Experience
I saw it on the Play-Boy channell!!!
Let the people that like to be told when and how big a pile move to a different world.Let the rest be FREE.
The feds are going to have to ramp up their keep um stupid policy to stop legalization.Higher tuition, less employment, more wars.
This should have been done long ago. Cannibas is one of the few textiles that we could use in so many various ways that can not only benefit the individual, but also the businesses that could use/benefit from hemp/cannibas being legal across the board. Tax the hell out of it..we can destroy the deficit within five years with legalization and taxation.!!!
ok georgia now its our turn to step up to the plate its time to turn this bible belt upside down and make some money!!!!!!
Nice piece. Question: why isn’t some organization or Soros/Lewis sponsoring a ballot initiative?
[Editors’ note: This big money is already behind the MA medical cannabis ballot initiative, slated for 2012, where its prospects are excellent. For the legalization ballot to receive the same degree of $ support from them, the MA polling will need to consistently come in at 58% or higher for six months. This will make it likely too late to qualify for the 2012 ballot, but bodes well for 2013 or 2014.]
Does ANYBODY know how to get over the withdrawal effect of not sleeping after quiting pot? It’s been months since I’ve had a single 8-hour night sleep. It’s driving me absolutely fucking crazy!!!!!!!!!! God I hate th government
Congress just hasnt been able to refuse the money pouring in from BIG PHARMA. Until the cash flow can be stifled and others among us can delete “Reefer Madness”
from the hard drive of our minds its just going to be everybody pissed off at everbody.
ambrjak
I am getting tired of polls. I want to get to a point where we can vote on it. If it is a law for the people then the people need to be able to have their voice heard.
Now this…is very good news.
… just started reading MARIJUANA Gateway To Health by Clint Werner, an amazing new book that debunks the fear that marijuana is a ‘gateway to hard drugs..’ medically sound with lots of scientific research! a must for everyone, just released. i can’t put it down!!!
The numbers sound great! Let’s hope so. I hope this is not like a Wagnerian opera where it ain’t over till the fat lady sings because you know the prohibitionists will try to thwart it as that have in other states.
Saw the 2nd installment of Weed Wars, loved it.
As for the Oakland city folks, I hope they’re just hamming it up for the show. If Harborside had to remain nonprofit they couldn’t be collecting for the increased tax on them in anticipation of the measure being passed, and if they say they need more time and to work out some sort of payment plan deal then you work with them.
Your bond rating could be negatively affected if you put Harborside and others out by demanding so much more in too short a time. They know what they can afford to pay and in what kind of a time frame. You need their revenue payments! You can’t let the Feds in their § 280E. Expenditures in connection with the illegal sale of drugs harm Harborside and the others because you know the Feds’ goal is to shut them down, which means you’re out the revenues that are helping to freakin save your bond rating.
Thousands of cash-strapped local governments could use the reserves from incoming cannabis revenues to ensure they have acceptable bond ratings.
SAN FRANCISCO (Standard & Poor’s) March 30, 2011–Standard & Poor’s Ratings
Services revised the outlook to stable from negative on its ratings and
underlying ratings (SPURs) on Oakland, Calif.’s general obligation (GO) bonds
and pension obligation bonds (POBs) and Oakland Joint Powers Financing
Authority’s revenue bonds. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its
‘AA-‘ rating and SPUR on the GO bonds, its ‘AA-‘ SPUR on the revenue bonds,
and its ‘A+’ SPUR on the POBs.
“The rating action reflects our view of management’s budgetary actions that
have allowed the city to maintain what we consider to be still very strong
reserve levels despite the recession’s impact on local revenue and resulting
successive budget gaps,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Misty Newland.
Management expects the fiscal 2011 general fund will be balanced. The city’s
fiscal 2011 midyear forecast includes an additional revenue loss of almost $11
million due primarily to lower-than-budgeted parking meter citations, interest
income, and billboard revenue. However, this shortfall was partially offset by
lower-than-expected expenditures of $6 million. We understand that the
remaining imbalance will be offset by a limited amount of one-time revenue and
additional projected underspent expenditures, pending approval by the city
council in late April or early May. We expect that with these budget
revisions, reserves will remain consistent with prior-year levels, which we
consider very strong. Fiscal 2010 closed with an unreserved general fund
balance of 29.7% of expenditures.
yay… i cant wait until that day comes in sometime 2012 or 2013 where marijuana will finally be widely accepted and we can all smoke without feeling guilty. ^_^
read genises chapter 1 verse 12 it should be the very first page of the bible and spread the word!!
In a world so out of control,with anger and greed the norm,we all know that the only cure for this illness is to end the governments ignorance when it comes to cannabis.
The world will not begin healing unless Uncle Sam releases it’s iron grip on cannabis and hemp.Only then will the anger and greed begin to subside,and only then will we possibly begin to see any hope for Peace and Prosperity.Anger and greed rule,Peace and Prosperity is on Life Support.
Whoot whoot !!!
“When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before.” John D Rockefeller, Jr.
Sounds *exactly* like what we’re seeing with cannabis prohibition today.
It’s not what you say, but how you say it!
Bono on Huchabee about AIDS help and poor. How it made America great. This is what cannabis can be to the world. Medical and industrial would bring they’re sociaties up. You know. Spresd the wealth.
Even here if you had a thousand acres at $300 an acre just for the stalks You could pay someone $60,000 a year +health to plant and deliver to market. Make land and equiptment payments and get a bit for yourself.
Stop the insanity.
I wish my grandfather could be prescribed some non narcotic medication. As we all know, oxy is a very strong drug, he can barely function on it. He keeps going to the emergency room because he’s dizzy, has head aches, and can hardly speak. He recently had a stroke as well. He’s in a lot of pain, has diabetes, and poor blood circulation. I can’t believe for one minute that drugging him with these opiates are helping him get any better. He hardly eats anymore because of the meds. He’s rotting away, and only creating frusteration in the family. He’s miserable, and I strongly believe if he were to try thc orally…he would eat better, and he would be much healthier mentally and physically. NYS, please consider a change, PLEASE!!! Federal laws (against the marijuana prohibition), go fuck yourself!!! Your fighting a war when you made opiates legal. Why don’t you see the harm you caused? I truly hate you. Sincerely, never yours…
Why can’t the world see that marijuana isn’t a drug? Why must an herb that’s been proven repeatedly to be more medicinal than most main stream medications and vastly less harmful be labeled so extremely by the U.S. government? “Taxes”? I propose an ideal. The solution to our debt crisis, at least partly, can be solved by a simple card and a wonderful herb. If interested, then by all means contact me and I’ll be more than delighted to delve into the “works” of this Ideal Process for the Legalization of Marijuana.
Per the editor’s note to my earlier response, California was polling well in 2010, but because it was an off-year election, turnout was unfavorable. If Massachusetts waits to 2013 or 2014 the state can expect a similar result.
It seems to me that if a number of states put up legalization initiatives simultaneously in a presidential election year, the odds are strong(er) that at least one state will pass fundamental reform.
As we saw in California in 2010, even a close loss will move the debate forward. So I think George Soros or Peter Lewis or someone should act quickly to get a full legalization measure on the ballot in Massachusetts for 2012.
[Editor’s note: Unfortunately in CA in 2010, the support for legalization in polling never touched 58%…and not for six consecutive months…
As indicated before, these funders are already in MA in 2012 with a medical cannabis initiative (which means they’re not going to fund a second initiative for legalization on the same ballot), and are already in CO and WA for legalization initiatives (if the polling is consistently over 58%….). ]
It means that cannabis legalization brings joy to citizens.
Cannabis is good.
Vote!
The revenue from taxing the sale of regulated cannnabis sales would help our state. Nationally the same would be true. It is about time we ended this foolish prohibition.
Check out the latest news about Arizona’s medical marijuana legislation:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/12/governor_brewers_lawsuit_vs_me.php
I don’t understand why not put both MA initiatives on the ballot in 2012 and whoever can’t support legalization can still support the medical law which will pass overwhelmingly and is overdue for Massachusetts. It seems like you would save money putting 2 initiatives on the same ballot in the same year rather the one after another.
[Editor’s note: The funders of the MA initiative do not run two initiatives in the same state at the same time, notably if they began with a medical cannabis-only advocacy narrative (i.e., “we’re not supporters of legalizing marijuana…”).]
It’s not that I think you should invest money in a battle you can’t win its just that sometimes poll numbers only move when campaigns move forward yes there is a steady positive yearly trend but can’t count on that lasting forever even if the demographics look good on that front.
[Editor’s note: Historically, going back to 1972, in over 30 public initiatives, pro-reform initiatives almost always lose 3%-9% support during the campaign life cycle. There are few if any examples of these pro-reform initiatives picking up any greater public support once they make the ballot, which is why it is so important that reformers need to achieve 58% support minimally going into these campaigns because the very likely outcome is that the measure will lose public support, not gain any, so margins for losing 3%-9% public support have to be taken into strong consideration.
Ideally, reformers want to see the numbers at 60% or higher pre-campaign as this demonstrates wide, bi-partisan support that bodes well for winning a majority.]
There is still a drug war?!?! God when will this stupid shit ever end.
I think that part of what we could be fighting for is a reduction in the severity of the punishment across this nation if someone gets caught with a small amount of cannabis (perhaps less than 1 lb). In my many discussions with people who are both for and against legalization, even those against it think the penalties are ridiculously severe and unfair.
So, until it becomes legal, can we at least get a compromise by reducing the penalties for possession and even for selling small amounts? I think that anyone with even an average amount of common sense and compassion would agree that this should be done.
Re Editor’s Note to comment 49:
While there are few examples of pro-reform initiatives that pick up any great support, more importantly, there are even fewer examples of legalization efforts.
As we’ve seen post Prop 19 in California, even a loss moves the debate forward. The average person tends not to think about this issue, and they often take what is thought of as popular opinion as their own. However, when they are asked to vote on the issue, it gives them the chance to actually think about the issue. So if our issue is truly just, why wouldn’t we want people to be thinking about it? Consider: we now have a president who says legalization is a subject worthy of debate. Can you imagine him saying that before Prop 19?
[Editor’s note: OK…sure….binding legalization ballots in all of the two dozen or so states that allow for them. However, one major problem:
$$$$$
The grassroots movement to reform cannabis has not put up the needed funding for a ballot initiative–all of the major funding comes from a group of three billionaires (and NORML receives no funding from any of them)–so if and when there are cannabis law reform initiatives they happen only because one or more of these folks chips in millions of dollars, and they don’t appear to have any appetite to run more than one or two narrowly worded pro-reform initiatives at any one time (and don’t generally fund them if they poll under 55%).
The only real exception to this is last year’s Prop. 19 in CA, which was largely funded by Oaksterdam University and BullDog owner Richard Lee, who, acknowledged at the beginning of the campaign that the public support level was not likely high enough to prevail, but if Prop 19 lost by only a few percentage points, then it was worthwhile to undertake and to underwrite a statewide/national discussion to end Cannabis Prohibition.
To date, the amalgam of these three billionaire donors have not wanted to run symbolic initiatives, instead preferring to win narrowly crafted reform initiatives that actually change laws (though, not as far as many grassroots activists prefer).]
re; 58% support in Massachusetts for legalizing marijuana and
regulating it as other agricultural commodities
re; [Editor’s note: Unfortunately in CA in 2010, the support for legalization in polling never touched 58%…and not for six consecutive months…
bad question = bad results,
better question = better results,
best question = best results.
by now, you should have optimized the language, so as to get optimal results.
we can never put in enough stupid, pointless, rediculous over-regulations make the other side vote for it, so stop trying to do that, and try making OUR side happy for a change, please.
prop 19 was INTENTIONALLY DEFEATED by PRO-POT voters,
BECAUSE it tried to ‘buy’ the votes of the other side, by putting in way too much ‘feel good’ over-regulations and prohibitions. regulations and prohibitions that are NOT REQUIRED for alcohol or tobacco or prescription drugs or K2/SPICE, SO OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS NO NEED FOR THEM WITH POT, either.
also note; “and regulating it as other agricultural commodities”;
means agricultural commodities like corn or wheat or TOMATOES !!
YES, THE ‘MAKE IT AS LEGAL AS TOMATOES’ MODEL OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION GETS THE BEST POLL RESULTS !!
WAY BETTER THAN THE ‘ALCOHOL MODEL’ EVER DID.
I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS…
marijuana is A MEDICALLY BENEFICIAL, natural, NON-NARCOTIC, non-toxic plant substance, LIKE BLUEBERRIES, ORANGE JUICE, GARLIC, or olive oil.
-and should be regulated as such.
[Editor’s note: Cannabis may be all of those things but it is also a drug that has mild psychotropic effects that cause impairment, and therefore to become legalized the drug is logically going the same route of alcohol and tobacco products where there will be age and use restrictions.
Because cannabis is certainly a drug it is not going to be legally available in America like food products such as orange juice, blueberries or garlic.]
Polls Molls .
California was ahead in the polls and look what happen .
[Editor’s note: Actually, the polls before the election indicated only for a brief 3-4 week period (late August-mid September) where legalization polled in the majority once the campaign was launched. 3 weeks out from the election the polling came down to largely reflect the final vote — 53%-47%.
Whether to gauge general public support or to help form reform strategies, polling and focus groups are very important tools for corporations, organizations, governments and other institutions.]
@53 Editors Note: Marijuana is certainly a drug???
I’m more than a little surprised that any NORML editors would say such a thing!
[Editor’s note: Why would the truth about cannabis surprise you at NORML? Where else are consumers going to get the ‘truth’ (meaning: accurate and verifiable information) about cannabis? Are you going to seriously contend here that cannabis is not a drug? That it does not cause impairment? That people don’t abuse it?
What is worse, a disingenuous Prohibitionist or a disingenuous cannabis law reform advocate?
One thing is for sure, cannabis will never become legal if its consumers and legal advocates are going to lie about it or try to purposely mislead the public about the effects of cannabis, mild as they are compared to pharmaceutical, alcohol and tobacco products.
Any regular reader of NORML’s blogs knows that delusional or pie-in-the-sky advocacy is not only discouraged, it will be thwarted where possible.
Publicly claiming that cannabis is not a drug is delusional and not at all helpful in ending Cannabis Prohibition.]
It will be a cold day in hell until my state of Oklahoma even considered decriminalizing marijuana. However, it is good to see other states coming along. Good luck to Massachusetts in your pursuit of a novel idea: FREEDOM!
If Massachusetts legalizes, the points will span 3 states through New Jersey and Delaware to D.C. That’s basically the easter seaboard’s megalopolis, from D.C. to Boston.
There’ll be no point in further avoiding to change the law at the federal level in favor of states’ rights or some other form of outright legalization at the federal level. There is talk (Krugman) of a depression, which is not the time to throw good money after bad and not go for the money grab. The nation, the world economy, needs cannabis revenues and taxes right now, from families to remain or become homeowners, not defaulters, to governments and their bondholders, to big banks who can’t safely move the volume of money they need as long as cannabis is illegal. They can only launder so much money under the illegal status of cannabis.
It is not a situation of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Cannabis prohibition is a lost cause. If you can’t eradicate it out of every podunk town in America you just ain’t gettin’ rid of it. Things ain’t a changin’ your way because cannabis prohibition is built on lies and deceit, and manipulation of science funding and cooperation, and stonewalling of pleas and appeals stalled for years at a time. How long did they take to answer that last call for a change? 9 years?
Stop the Feds from keeping on pissing away money out of the public coffers to enforce cannabis prohibition and force everyone to go without the cannabis revenues and jobs and livelihoods it brings with it in the above ground economy. What a better time to put illegals trafficking outright or supplementing their below the standard of living paychecks with either a legal job or a return ticket back home for financial reasons to look or wait for work back home.
I’m looking forward to hearing about the choice Latin American and Mexican sativas returning: Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, Colombian Gold and Colombian Red, fine Jamaican Red, and more. A nice color assortment, as many of the colors of the rainbow can be bred, would be fantastic as a varieties are developed for different ailments and different moods.
How many tips are there on a cannabis leaf?
re; 58% support in Massachusetts for legalizing marijuana and
regulating it as other agricultural commodities
re; [Editor’s note: Unfortunately in CA in 2010, the support for legalization in polling never touched 58%…and not for six consecutive months…
bad question = bad results,
better question = better results,
best question = best results.
by now, you should have optimized the language, so as to get optimal results.
we can never put in enough stupid, pointless, rediculous over-regulations make the other side vote for it, so stop trying to do that, and try making OUR side happy for a change, please.
prop 19 was INTENTIONALLY DEFEATED by PRO-POT voters,
BECAUSE it tried to ‘buy’ the votes of the other side, by putting in way too much ‘feel good’ over-regulations and prohibitions. regulations and prohibitions that are NOT REQUIRED for alcohol or tobacco or prescription drugs or K2/SPICE, SO OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS NO NEED FOR THEM WITH POT, either.
also note; “and regulating it as other agricultural commodities”;
means agricultural commodities like corn or wheat or TOMATOES !!
YES, THE ‘MAKE IT AS LEGAL AS TOMATOES’ MODEL OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION GETS THE BEST POLL RESULTS !!
WAY BETTER THAN THE ‘ALCOHOL MODEL’ EVER DID.
I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS…
marijuana is A MEDICALLY BENEFICIAL, natural, NON-NARCOTIC, non-toxic plant substance, LIKE BLUEBERRIES, ORANGE JUICE, GARLIC, or olive oil.
-and should be regulated as such.
[Editor’s note: Cannabis may be all of those things but it is also a drug that has mild psychotropic effects that cause impairment, and therefore to become legalized the drug is logically going the same route of alcohol and tobacco products where there will be age and use restrictions.
Because cannabis is certainly a drug it is not going to be legally available in America like food products such as orange juice, blueberries or garlic.]
my response;
1. if “make pot as legal as tomatoes” gets the most votes, then that’s exactly what we should be pushing for.
let us vote for what we really want, and you will GET MORE VOTES.
you will not ‘get out the vote’ with something the pro-pot voters are not enthusiastic about, or do not like, and we will vote AGAINST stinkers like prop 19.
enough ‘medical use only’ petitions.
enough with the ‘ONLY one ounce’ bullshit.
enough with the rediculous over-regulations.
legal means FULLY LEGAL, that’s what we want to vote for.
that’s what we have been waiting YEARS or DECADES for the chance to vote for.
that’s what will ‘get out the vote’.
quit trying to placate the prohibitionists.
you will never get their votes.
local regulations can be added later, if they are really needed. any store that does not want to sell it, for example, will not be required to do so, so they would not have to worry about it.
2. before the drug war, coca-cola had enough cocaine in it to give you a buzz, and it was sold as a food product.
today, energy drinks are sold as food products, and they are loaded with legal drugs; stimulants, which certainly cause mild psychotropic effects and mild impairment.
cough medicine, cans of whipped cream, coffee, and nutmeg, are sold as food product, and can cause mild psychotropic effects.
numerous huff-able cleaners, glues, and solvents, that can get you high and can also CAUSE DEATH, are still sold as legal products; “as legal as tomatoes”.
SALVIA has super-potetent psychotropic effects, and is legal, even for minors in many places.
there are hundreds of plants that will give some type of buzz, and dozens that will kill you, including poisonous mushrooms, and the ‘castor bean weed’ that the poison ‘ricin’ is made from, and they are not illegal.
EVEN RAW POTATOES ARE TOXIC, AND CAN KILL YOU, AND ARE SOLD AS FOOD PRODUCT, AND ARE SOLD WITH NO RESTRICTIONS. “as legal as tomatoes”.
there are and dozens of deadly poisonous chemicals in the grocery store, and way more at the auto parts store and hardware store, as well. all “as legal as tomatoes”.
so, if even deadly poisons are “as legal as tomatoes”, why should pot be regulated more severely than poison ??
don’t you know, this ‘marijuana prohibition’ is really a conspiracy against the industrial and medical uses for this plant; it treats many ailments, and it gives you CLEAN, GREEN, RENEWABLE, ten-dollar-a-barrel home-grown OIL. no arabs, no oil spills killing our wildlife, and no oil wars.
if pot was as industrially useless as tobacco, it would have never been made illegal, even if it killed you, as i have just illustrated with the poisonous mushrooms and ‘castor bean weed’ example.
so; marijuana is not illegal because it is bad,
marijuana is illegal because it is VERY VERY GOOD !!
unless you are very old, your whole life expirience has been ‘life during wartime’, and ‘drug war’ propaganda. (drugs are bad)
you have never expirienced the freedom of being able to buy pure opium or cocaine for pennies a dose, in any pharmacy, with no prescription, and having it be no big deal.
or going to a restaurant and getting a ‘cocaine-cola’, and having it be no big deal.
or buying your marijuana from the sears catalog, and smoking it pretty much anywhere, anytime, you want to.
i guarantee you, as soon as the drug war is over, coca-cola, or some other soda, will have cocaine in it, cough medicine and sleeping pills and toothache drops will have opium again, and patients will treat their own pain, with potent over-the-counter tonics, just like we used to, for over 100 years.
will there be some addicts ??
yes, there will always be some, in any system.
it is human nature.
[Editor’s note: Indeed, if the mega funders want to fund a ‘treat cannabis like tomatoes’ (or in CA’s parlance, ‘Treat Cannabis Like Wine’ initiative), the MassCANN/NORML chapter has provided them a snapshot survey indicating that a regulated model is more popular than an unregulated one.
If past is prologue the mega funders will endow the more conservatively written initiative that polls higher.
Cannabis is going to be legal sooner than later, but the belief that a mildly psychotropic herbal drug like cannabis is not going to have age and use restrictions (similar to a far more dangerous and addictive drug like alcohol) is not tethered to legal, political or financial reality.]
16 Reese: I did not see where anyone answered your question so I will. Try Benedryl. I take three every night that I don’t have any weed and sleep like a baby.
I think this provides the perfect opportunity to Ask Governor Mitt Romney how he stands on the issue of ending Prohibition as it regards to States Rights and Less Government.
@55 Editors note: Honestly, I do expect the truth from NORML. I truly believed that marijuana was not considered to be a drug and that it is an herb; a plant. Of course I know consuming it has a drug-like effect but I’ve read elsewhere (in various blogs) that it is not a drug.
Well, if it is indeed a drug, it is an incredibly safe and beneficial one!
[Editor’s note: Well, if it is indeed a drug, it is an incredibly safe and beneficial one! Indeed, as the DEA’s law judge Francis Young ruled in NORML vs. DEA ‘Marijuana is the safest therapeutic substance known to man’…’safer than most foods we eat’…’no known human overdoses’…’a remarkable record of safety’….etc…]
To #55 and #64, it would be helpful in a legal sense, to say it this way: Cannabis is the plant part. THC is the drug part. Marijuana is the smoked part. This can be done with a simple definition.
The current definition of marijuana is what DEA law Judge Francis Young had in mind when he made his statement. In that definition, marijuana is defined as all (but not some) parts of cannabis. Its placement in Schedule 1 causes him and many others to regard it as a drug. THC is a drug, and it is in Schedule 3.
That definition is clearly the definition of the only ‘other substance’ in Schedule 1. Why allow Schedule 1 to be corrupted by an ‘other substance’? Why corrupt any other Schedule by moving that ‘other substance’ to another schedule? Why not make a simple definition which resolves the confusion?
This simple definition actually shows respect for our Constitution:
16. The term ‘marijuana’ means all parts
of the smoke produced by the combustion
of the plant Cannabis sativa L.
For more information, google Talking Points for the Peloton.
Has there been any thought to forming a cannabis pledge? Though things are going well on the voter initiatives, there is clearly room for more influence with politicians. If there are over 50% of people in a state favoring marijuana legalization, then they should be able to exert their influence on politicians.
How about creating a pledge that politicians would sign where they swear to vote in favor of any and all legislation to legalize marijuana? You can accomplish two things with this pledge. One, you get people on record about the issue one way or another. Two, you can inform the NORML crowd (and others) of which politicians have refused to sign the pledge. In fact, if you were able to get this pledge going, I bet many voters would agree to only vote for a candidate if they have signed the pledge. And if no one running has signed the pledge, the voter would abstain. In a tight race, this could be the deciding factor. I see this as a much quicker route to legalization than any other, particularly in states like California, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts.
I see photos of our troops in Afghanistan and I see cannabis in the background and foreground of these photos. Why is it a country under our control where we are fighting because they have our enemies amongst them have the legal right to grow cannabis,while we the honest civilians footing the bill for the war are considered criminals if we do? By the same government that says they are fighting our enemies in Afghanistan? More heroin comes out of Afghanistan now than before the war. Why?
As much as I want to see it legalized, and not just by individual states, I don’t see it happening for another couple of generations. Hopefully by then, scientific minds will prevail over the current boogyman in the closet.
I for one am sick of the Editor always saying how they need the BIG MONEY to back them.
Guess what, the truth doesn’t need big money behind it.
As for calling this plant a drug, it is completely unprocessed. It just grows like that.
—-This issue really bothers me, it is not a drug just because you say people abuse it.
—-PEOPLE WILL ABUSE ANYTHING, Dipsh#t.
—-I am pretty sure if you hold your breath in for too long you get “mild psychotropic effects”.
+ Cocaine is processed and concentrated
+ Booze is processed and concentrated
+ The nicotine in tobacco is
+ Coffee is
+ Opiates are
+ WEED IS A DAMN PLANT, IT GROWS LIKE
THAT
As to the age limit thing. Look at the epidemic of ADHD in our classrooms. Our kids need a remedy, they are living in this bullshit era of lies and fear too.
Too long have our third eyes been crippled.
Each and every one of us needs to do our part by smoking this plant as an exercise in civil disobedience.
As for impairment. I THINK NOT. This plant will not impair you unless you sit there and smoke a SNOOP SIZED BLUNT.
[Editor’s note: How has the ‘truth’ worked so far in Congress to end Cannabis Prohibition? It is an unfortunate reality in Washington DC and the state capitals: no pay, no play.
When cannabis consumers and producers care enough about freedom and/or Cannabis Prohibition does not work for them anymore, maybe they’ll care enough to put some serious skin in the game like NRA, AARP, AIPAC, Chamber of Commerce and other membership-based organizations do to get their way.
Historically cannabis consumers donate very little money to reform groups like NORML, DPA, MPP, ASA, etc…and every single reform initiative since 1996 has been financed by three billionaires, save for last year’s Prop. 19.]
I was involved in a car accident about 15 years ago, spent around a month and a half in a coma, woke up, underwent over a year of rehabilitative therapy, and smoke all day long every day. Thanks to the wonderful gift from the universe, my muscle spasms are controlled and improves the muscle tone in my feet and calfs allowing me easier and less stress movement. I don’t smoke to get stupid, I smoke to live!
To defeat the huge prohibition machine I feel you must have the majority of the population on side. This is happening slowly in the USA with the recent Gallup poll results showing 50% in favour of cannabis legalization. Australia and many other countries has no where near that support. Why? The incredibly right leaning media machine and a population willing to believe anything they are told. Education is the key to this lock. This takes time and all of us in possession of the facts spreading the truth around liberally and facing some pretty hostile arguments in the process. Rational drug policy is some way off yet. I feel the USA needs to dismantle prohibition first since it started here. The rest of the world should follow, as without the US there really could be no drug war. Makes you wish Anslinger had never been born. What a legacy of injustice and moral corruption he left behind. Next time you think “I am just one person, what could I possibly do?” remember so was this bastard.