“Marijuana is something that real people care about.” — Jimmy Kimmel (forward to 21:50 or click here)
Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel performed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and took a moment to confront President Obama on his marijuana crackdown.
I do have one real question for you, Mr. President. What’s with the marijuana crackdown? I mean, seriously, what’s the concern, we will deplete the nation’s Funyun supply?
You know, pot smokers vote, too. Sometimes a week after the election, but they vote.
Let’s take a quick poll. I would like everyone in this room to raise your hand if you’ve never smoked pot.
[Very few hands go up.] Heh heh. There you go. Look at Brit Hume – he’s high right now. He’s on his fourth almond macaroon.
Mr. President, I hope you don’t think I’m out of line here, but marijuana is something that real people care about. The fact that you believe Speaker Boehner when he tells you he still has control of his party leads me to believe that you must be smoking some crazy great weed yourself.
Woody Harrelson just woke up.
Thank you, Jimmy Kimmel, for exemplifying how a cannabis consumer can be polite yet direct in calling on the president to explain a policy that is no longer supported by a majority of Americans. Half of this country supports outright legalization of marijuana and three-quarters think marijuana punishments, if any, should be no more than ticketable offenses, not crimes.
Love it Jimmy..”raise your hand if you’ve never smoked pot”…there you go!
I really hope we hear some kind of response to this. Thank you Jimmy Kimmel!
Ok. Thats settlet. When it wil be legal?
Awesome
I wish everyone had a sense of humor like this. If only we had real people running America under the watchful eye of the non-government citizens.
Notice how it was just a big joke to everyone though, even trough Kimmel’s sincerity…
I wish everyone had a sense of humor like this. If only we had real people running America under the watchful eye non-government citizens.
Notice how it was just a big joke to everyone though, even through Kimmel’s sincerity…
Thank you Jimmy Kimmel. You got my vote!
It’s about time someone rubbed Barrys nose in it.
Thanks Jimmy!
I hope this means we’ve made a step forward in marijuana legalization
Thank You Jimmy.
Wow, lots-o-squirming and FAKE “smiles” going on here. Jimmy, you just might be my new hero!
Heathcare – whether we want it or not.
Obama’s agenda – RED
Newt’s Parents – Michellin Man + Pilsbury Dough Boy
ROFLOL
Lets see crack down on marijuana, crack down on raw milk, crack down on those exposing government waste and corruption. While ignoring his friend Jon Corzine stealing $1.6 Billion. I think his priorities need change.
I would’nt keep saying “Crack“ down mr.pres. Maybe that is his problem. Put the crack pipe down bro.
LOVE YOU, JIMMY KIMMEL!!
Marijuana is a Crime Hang Them High Put Them in Prison For a Long Time
Crime – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crime
an act or the commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment …
Please Mr. President help us who are in pain, with legalizing medical marijuana. I’ve been on opiates and they get you hooked and sick, and they are legal. When you get down to it, they’re both plants God gave us. Also where does most of the opium come from? You’re right the Middle East!!! Thank You
A friend of mine has Macular Edema and was taking two 340.00 shots in her eyes a month to try to save here vision.. when on the pharmaceutics here vision got to 20/250 in the right and 20/260 in the right. She was basically blind fr a year till she was convicnced to try pot.. she now has 20/50 in both eyes and got her drivers license back and the sad thing is if she gets caught with the pot she will become a criminal and go blind.. this government policy is messed up. If she goes blind she wont be paying taxes and her burden on our society will go up.. This Drug policy must change NOW.
It would be so disruptive to the politics of this country to legaize it. I am all for it, but I will be voting to not legalize it any further than it is now here in California. If you think it through, you’ll discover that jobs ie law enforcement, would be a large area of job loss, prison/state workers..who are already losing jobs/being laid off here. Many repurcussions to think about in the long term. i believe it needs much more thought & planning. If one wants to partake, there are 30 diagnosis in the legal medicinal cannibis that are approved for use…..I have taken my ‘medicine’ this morning….I am a retired nurse, 58y/o. Think about what would be directly affected if it were legalized further, make informed choices. Promote education and the study of legalizing it!
[Russ responds: So… we need to keep arresting 850,000 Americans a year and allowing murderous Mexican drug criminals to reap the benefits of our marijuana economy? Sorry, there will be plenty of jobs in hemp and marijuana for all the laid off prison guards and DEA and if not, then tough. Nobody – not a dealer, doctor, prison guard, pot grower, or prohibitionist deserves to make an undeserved living off the suffering of cannabis consumers.]
In case any of you pot heads have forgotten MARIJUANA is a smoke and smoking can lead to lung cancer..Count on pot heads to push to legalize some thing that can kill you..
[Russ responds: Count on the ignorant to visit the NORML Blog and leave uneducated comments. Dr. Tashkin’s 30-year study of marijuana smokers found they not only don’t have an increased risk of head, neck, and lung cancer, and do not have increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema, but they have less risk of cancer than non-smokers.]
uh huh, so in your opinion, all cigs and cigars should be illegal? cigarette smoke kills more people than anything in this country.
In case you potheads haven’t realized it yet MARIJUANA is a weed that you smoke and smoking can lead to CANCER..Get your heads out of the clouds of smoke and come down to earth and face reality..
I dont understand how they could have smoked it and still insist its sooooo bad. I have been smoking since 1965 and I still love my doobie.. They are just proving to us that our wants and needs do not count. Their narrow minds are what counts to them and thats it. They need to get over themselves and open those ears to what the people want on more then this issue.
I like how Obama smiled at his jokes, especially when he said you must be smoking some crazy good weed yourself.
Oh and Raymond, no sir, there is no proof that Marijuana causes lung cancer. It is the ingredients in tobacco that causes lung cancer and most of those do not exist in Marijuana. I have been smoking for 47 years and my lungs are just fine thank you very much.
Thanks jimmy for your polite honest and realistic view of this seriously simplistic change that is well overdue
Raymond,
Perhaps you have neglected to read the current research regarding marijuana effect on cancer which has shown that the use of the drug helps to fight the disease in humans or you are a right wing finatic who would rather rant then educate yourself on the issue. Kudos to Jimmy Kimmel on his addressing this ridiculous, pointless, prohibition that has gone on too long. Legalize it now !!
Ok for the stupid commits about lung cancer, you should do ur research before you make that statement, because, you are wrong, cigs, alcohol, and the # 1 killer pharm drugs. Oh and for the nut job that said, law enforcement would lose jobs, well THE USA, houses more non violent criminals than all countries combined, how about we put Congress in jail, so we can all live to be free. Maybe we should jail you for your commit.
THANK YOU for putting that out there at the dinner table! It’s where a lot of good American Discourse starts!
Raymond, you need to check your facts because cannabis has been proven to kill cancerous cells, not cause it. in addition, no one has ever died from cannabis.
what about cigarettes, alcohol, prescription pills? Those are all legal
It is a tragedy that the government continues to wage war against the citizens of the United States in the War against cannabis.
It is a extremely beneficial plant that many hard working adults choose to partake in for various personal reasons.
IT CAUSES NO HARM TO ANYONE!
Sadly i believe this plant will never be legalized, truthfully i do not ever see it even being open for honest debate.
My faith in humanity grows weaker by the hour…
Thank you Mr. Kimmel and all who believe in believe in the people.
Actually MARIJUANA is a plant… Which can be made into a vapor or oil & yes, also a smoke.
Raymond, you need to check your facts because cannabis has been proven to kill cancerous cells, not cause it. in addition, no one has ever died from cannabis.
what about cigarettes, alcohol, prescription pills? Those are all legal and actually kill thousands of people yearly.
Do some research before spreading misinformed garbage. Ignorant ass.
Jimmy wouldn’t have to explain this concept to Ron Paul…
Raymound your defense is seriously out dated it is like when your mama said don’t make that face it will stay like that sometimes ignorant stuck up air heads drive me nut when they open their mouths but then I remeber thats why I love freedom of speech
For the record, no deaths have been attributed to marijuana, so any “dangerous drug” paranoia is irrelevant. In parts of Europe where drug use is decriminalized, drug use has actually gone down.
Raymond, i understand you are just an ‘internet troll’ but so we do not spread any misinformation, there has never been any study linking cannabis smoke to cancer.
I understand your views they seem logical, smoke must be bad, there are several other ways to ingest cannabis such as using a vaporizer(which creates no toxins) or cooking and eating the cannabis.
Actually there are very little toxins whatsoever in the cannabis plant, this is why no matter what you can never die from consuming it.
If you eat about 6-10 pounds of raw potatoes, you will get sick and die. I doubt you endorse banning or making illegal potatoes.
Even the breathing process itself creates free radicals in your body, if antioxidants in your system do not deal with these free radicals they could mutate into cancer cells.
Even breathing clean air could potentially lead to a scenario it will be the end of your life.
Good luck and take care.
Thank you Raymond. While you’re at it, please explain why cigarettes are legal? And for that matter why the shotty air in city is legal? Thanks again, you’re a big help.
Mr.President,You know the dept that we are in and you also know how bad the pill problem is why not make medical marijuana tax card for $100.00 a year and get this country back on it’s feet.America is the ONLY country that imprisons more of their own people than any other country in the world for the smallest offences.Dr’s,Lawyers,business men and women,Congress men and women and past President’s have used pot it is just a way to screw the people out of their hard earned money due to the law..
Marijuana can be vaporized or cooked into foods, it does not need to be smoked.
Cigarettes & alcohol are Killers- why are they legal?! And many pharmaceuticals are worse and killing more & more people!
MARIJUANA is not a smoke. It is a herbal plant, that if used correctly, can provide healthier alternatives to government-aided drugs such as hydrocodone, roxycodone, opiates, benzos and similar drugs that lead to extremely unhealthy addiction and illness/death. In fact, most medical patients use vaporizers and/or edibles for the THC in marijuana, deeming it a very healthy MEDICATION. As for legalization, it may not be an immediate answer but with further advocacy for tolerance, it will be almost inevitable due to economic increases in revenue generated from sales/tons of savings in the “war on drugs”, a break for the overcrowded jail cells in America (many of which are on cannabis-related drug charges), and the list goes on. The strain on marijuana is keeping our society in stagnation, when we need to be more open-minded and stop letting our ego and sense of entitlement ruin us.
Raymond are you an idiot, you do not have to smoke marijuana to get high. There is vaporizing, edibles, and gels.
As for repercussions, it would create jobs, you need people to regulate the market sort of like the ATF is for alcohol and tobacco, it will cause people who already to buy it to pay taxes on it.
And as for someone calling it a crime, so is speeding, oral sex, and a few other things that go against the grain.
Our country wasnt founded on listening to the King, we broke laws to form this country ant thats part of the reason why it makes it so great.
Get over yourselves, if you dont like pot dont smoke it, if you dont like abortions dont get one, if you dont like guns dont own one. If you dont like having your rights taking away dont take away others.
@Raymond: kind of like any tobacco product? Which are legal?
Cheeseburgers can kill you too, if you eat too many of them. Let’s ban cheeseburgers.
@Raymond: Hey Raymond Marijuana is not a smoke, it’s a plant and it can be taken in a lot more ways then just being smoked.
@raymond…ur obviously no doctor…marijuana smoking, as looked up on webmd, has so link to lung cancer, in fact some strains attack and cure lung cancer. On average habitual pot smokers live 2 years longer then not pot smokers. @tim….it’s not a crime in states that have legalized it medically…and if laws change, which is what more then 3/4 of America is fighting for, it won’t be a crime at all.
Thank you Jimmy, for your brave and brilliant comments!
Raymond, marijuana slows the growth of cancer cells. But even then, that is their own choice, as is smoking cigarettes or drinking coffee, which has thousands of unknown chemicals and only twenty known. I’d rather smoke marijuana.
As soon as a test is developed to tell if a person is under the effects of marijuana, the argument for legalization will be taken more seriously…
[Russ responds: There are such tests. Drug recognition experts are fairly well trained to identify the tell-tale signs of current marijuana use. Science is also working on roadside saliva and epocrine (armpit) sweat tests that would have a reliability similar to the alcohol breathalyzer.]
So…to answer a few things I’ve seen…
Marijuana does NOT cause lung cancer. In fact…THC has been found to KILL cancer cells.
As to the job losses if we legalize. Closing a bunch of prisons that shouldn’t have been built to start with…GOOD. Yes, that means the workers would have to find other jobs. So maybe they could turn the prison into a factory…that actually makes money by MAKING something…instead of making money on human misery!
@jazzmin: So, lets continue to incarcerate people unjustly in order to create job security for cops and prison workers? Brilliant!
jazzmin, I am sure you mean well by your statement, but, those jobs need not be lost. Instead they could refocus their efforts and arrest crack and heroin DEALERS and still have plenty of full jails and work for the police to do. Part of the reason they dont seem to put the effort into such things is, some of those folks WILL shoot back. MOST pot dealers wont, even WHEN confronted with time in jail. If that isnt enough, they could jail these folks on wallstreet who STEAL all the time and who’s punishment usually is a loss of employment and a fine at worst. (Of course they still might recieve their last years multi million dollor bonus to use for commisary) Dont you worry, there is PLENTY of crimes to go around that dont involve the use of marijuana.
As for the initial title of this thread, well, YOU GO JIMMY!!! That was great! We need more and more celebrities, and better yet, those with established credentials and better yet if they are not smokers of the herb to say its only common sense not to jail a person at a cost of $60/grand a year plus over a $300 oz of weed. We dont have this money to spend and I often wonder how much the government could save on a yearly basis if they were just to release any who are arrested for possesion or small sales (non organized types) and stop the enforcement and policing of marijuana based “crimes”. I bet it would go a long way towards helping to save this countries financial woes. So no matter how one wants to look at it, I would think it should consider serious discussion. Let Freedom Reign!
Ramond do better research before you speak. You do not have to smoke it to get its effects.
Jazzmin: Your comment sounds more dumb than a politician! So you’re saying that we should all help the cops & jail workers keep their jobs by all of us going to jail to support them? You’re saying forget that this is a helpful plant, let it stay illegal so they have jobs, so that INNOCENT people just trying to get better will have to suffer and die in jail so that someone else will get a paycheck?
Raymond: Thanks to some (not much) research, we have found that there are other ways to medicinally use cannabis other than smoking. And if you ever bothered to read, CBD (one of the main positive compounds in cannabis) actually KILLS cancerous cells, including lung cancer.
Raymond,
Please tell me where you found your information that states marijuana smoke can kill you. Certainly in the thousands of years of smoking the herb, if that is the case, someone would have died from it. I suggest you not speak about issues on which you are clearly ignorant.
Good call, Raymond. We should illegalize anything that can kill you. First we need to make sugar illegal, as it’s the leading cause of diabetes and countless other ailments. Then let’s get rid of cars and planes, those are dangerous. Hell, let’s outlaw water because thousands of people drown every year.
Your logic is bad, and you should feel bad.
It’s idiots like Raymond who don’t realize that Marijuana can be eaten as well. For those who don’t like to smoke it.
Guess what Raymond you don’t have to smoke marijuana you can cook many good meals and use it as an ingredient to medicate. You can also vaporize it which gets rid of the harms of smoking. So I suggest putting a little research into things before you spout ignorance.
@Raymond
Tobacco smoking causes cancer. Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells, not cause them. There has never been a documented case of a cannabis consumer contracting lung cancer as a direct result of cannabis consumption. Further more cannabis can be vaporized, taken orally, turned into tincture, or injected. In over 10,000 years of use no one has ever died of a cannabis overdose. The LD-50 (Lethal dose) is approximately 1500LBS in less than 20 minutes, a physical impossibility. Please research the subject before posting ludicrous, ignorant statements. IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!!
Raymond: there are MANY ways to consume THC without smoking it or doing anything else to cause bodily harm, such as eating or taking a pill.
Wow…..that was a great diplomatic wake up call for both political parties. It would wake me up for sure.
It was amazing how Jimmy Kimmel got everyone to think about marijuana in a positive way and got the laugh back at Obama.
It’s called using a vaporizer or using edibles. Smoking is not the only way of using marijuana, I agree smoking anything will cause lung damage and possibly cancer in the future. Marijuana is instantly associated with smoking when there are plenty of other ways to use it.
Hey Raymond, smoking is just one form of ingestion, educate yourself. Tobacco and alcohol and prescription pills kill more per day than pot ever has…
Marijuana may lead to lung cancer but there have been very few reports of it due to the fact people dont chain smoke marijuana in the way people chain smoke cigarettes
Raymond….do your research its not just pot heads that are for leagalization and cigarettes are legal and cause lung cancer marijuana has been found to help with asthma…you can get lung cancer from anything there are people that haven’t smoked a day in their life and they get lung cancer…alcohol causes more harm on your body than pot and that’s legal…prescription drugs cause more harm and a can be addictive and those are legal…so why shouldn’t something that is 100% natural has no addatives like chemicals and other shit that cigarettes and alcohol and prescrption drugs do…people do your research before saying is only stoners that are for legalization quit being so close minded!
Raymond,
There are many ways to intake marijuana. Vaporizing and cooking it is far more healthy and does not cause lung cancer. Your argument is invalid as well since tobacco is legal and it has way worse health effects than smoking marijuana. Go troll somewhere else.
you anti weed people are idiots… cigs cause cancer, not illegal…. alcohol causes widespread death, not illegal…. you anti weed peeps, most of you are drunks…war on drugs is lost… screw the people that would be put out of business for something that is unconstitutional in the first place and screw every one of you who want to control what I do with my body… (I dont get high by the way…. all it does is make me tired and paranoid)… but if I wanted to it’d be none of your f’n business dommasses….
Surely this Raymond guy is trolling, right?? Surely nobody can truly be that misinformed and ignorant, right??
“In case any of you pot heads have forgotten MARIJUANA is a smoke and smoking can lead to lung cancer..Count on pot heads to push to legalize some thing that can kill you..”
typical words from an uniformed supporter of an archaic position regarding cannabis. cannabis can be consumed in a variety of ways which do not require combustion.
furthermore, the ban on cannabis is illegal insofar as it restricts the 1st Amendment rights to freedom of religion. This extends to have negative 14th Amendment consequences regarding rights to Due Process.
De-criminalization is not a ‘favor’ that more than half of Americans are in support of; rather, decriminalization is a Constitutional Right – and it would do us good to demand that this right be restored. Good job Jimmy Kimmel…
@Raymond
Maybe you dont know.Marijuana is a plant that can cure cancer.You also can eat it.You can make butter,bread,oil,and many other products from it.ALL healthy.And there ZERO deaths from the use and abuse from Cannabis. Stupid ppl can kill you to and for me your 1 of them.
@Raymond: Are you suggesting smoking tobacco should be illegal? Or just all things that can kill you should be illegal?
Alcohol can lead to liver cancer, should that be illegal as well?
@Raymond of course you can’t be bothered to name a person that has died from only useing marijuana let alone any facts to back up your bullshit statement. Even if your premise was true their are so many other ways to consume marijuana rathher then just “smoking”. Count on prohibitionists to regurgitate stupid bullshit without any facts.
Thank you Jimmy Kimmel! Americans are being ignored
Raymond, marijuana is not a smoke it is a plant. It can be smoked but can also be vaporized with minimal impacts to respiratory function and overall health. It can even be eaten. I am assuming by your post that you think cigarettes should be banned and nicotine put in shedule I, is this correct?
Kimmel did a good job with his jokes… kept them just uncomfortable enough for the audience to make them think but lighthearted enough for them to immediately forgive him. This makes digesting his points that much easier.
Raymond The level of your ignorance is stunning.
@ Raymond: we have RIGHTS, in case you forgot. People that are NOT labeled ‘pot heads’ and people that do not partake of cannabis are in favor of legalization or some form of decriminalization. Law enforcement, the medical community, voters and other citizens agree with this. And cannabis has not been correlated to any deaths. Plus…..wait for it…..you DO NOT HAVE TO SMOKE IT! You can eat it in many forms and vaporize the THC to inhale (which contains NO SMOKE!). There are many ways to use this plant. Educate yourself better, everyone. Paper and wood products, gas/fuel….list goes on. Everyone speak up! The government wants what it wants….seize the only rights you have left and USE THEM!
Chemotherapy kills people…..so do cars and other people. So should we just make it illegal to have any of this risky stuff or illegal to live without completely being controlled, to live so we r all nice and safe, uh, dead or ‘imprisoned’ for everyone’s safety? I think our forefathers knew what they were doing when they wrote The Constitution.
rub it in
@Raymond- MARIJUANA isn’t always used for SMOKING- it is also made into tincitures and extracted for consumption (my favorite way of using the herb).
Also, SMOKING cannabis has never caused cancer, EVER. Studies show it actuall acts to PREVENT tumors in breasts, brain and lung. Do your research before you condemn, you just sound ignorant.
Raymond, Ye, because “smoke” is a strictly defined substance… Smoke, by itself wouldn’t cause cancer if there were no carcinogens in it. Tobacco smoke is very different from Marijuana smoke, just like smoke from burned plastic is different from the smoke from burned paper or wood. The only similar things are the actual combustion products (like CO). Though CO and other products are not necessarily good for you, it is highly unlikely that they alone would cause lung cancer, especially when they are mixed with THC and CBD, which are recognized by NCI to have anti-cancerous properties. Please stop being ignorant and jump to those conclusions without citing, or even looking into scientific data as if it’s a common knowledge. It’s not. It is a commonly known unproven myth, though.
P.S. Marijuana is not necessarily a smoke.
P.P.S. Nevertheless, it’s ok for tobaccoheads to still keep their smoke legal. (though it was proven to cause lung cancer… may be that’s the reason)
Obama has broken every campaign promise he made. He is a globalist traitor, and was never legally eligible to run for the presidency. He is a teleprompter-reading puppet run by the CFR. Vote Ron Paul if you want to restore states rights and limit Federal tyranny. Use nullification to run the Feds out of your state, then fight to fully legalize cannabis in your state. Go to DailyPaul.com and join the fight for liberty!
Some of the latest studies show that smoking marijuana is not like smoking cigarettes which do cause cancer and there are other ways of consuming marijuana than just smoking it if you have a concern that it will cause lung damage. If anything needs to be prohibited it smould be cigarettes. People need to educate themselves on marijuana.
Marijuana CAN indeed cause lung cancer but lets face the facts most people who smoke pot smoke cigarettes as well sooo that gets thrown right out the window. The fact is pot is harmless and a damn good cash crop. But we are far from full legalization. I would love to get Obama high and show him the killer buds we got now… And hey DC legLized it for medicinal use why cant all of America. Sucks especially being in MD right next to all the new stoners ugh
I’ve always loved Kimmel but after calling out the president last night I got a great feeling just thinking that this might not be just getting my hopes up for legalization soon. After hearing him get serious and even the whole crowd supporting him along with the 70% of Americans that aren’t afraid to speak out. Of course the president will pretend it was just a joke and won’t comment on it but just putting that message out in a serious way in front of the whole country during a comedy bit was just great. I wish more celebreties would stand up. They have much more power over the voters than the people who make our laws.
was he stoned looked stoned
Looks like some Obama trolls are out to defend his war on the marijuana consumer/patient/dispensary/education. And all the wonderful, and informed NORML people here have easily dismissed these lame prohibition arguments.
Why can’t the laimstream media do this? Kimmel roasted the President it a nice way. The thing was brilliant. I am a Kimmel fan now! Anybody who still thinks Obama is clueless about marijuana and the war on drugs is eating paint chips. Which are legal by the way.
I NEED A JOB! who cares if i grow weed and sell it? Should i turn to drugs to make it in this world? No… not unless Obama makes me do it.
Ya know Raymond,99% of the time ignorance is a choice.GREAT job Jimmy!!!
When confronting the President on a serious issue you should do it like a man not in the form of a joke or so lightly brought up.
It is inconclusive that smoking pot causes lung cancer.
“Q. Does smoking marijuana cause lung cancer? A. We do not know yet. Studies have not found an increased risk of lung cancer in marijuana smokers, as compared with nonsmokers.
Oct. 18, 2011 – National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
“[T]here is very little evidence that smoking marijuana as a means of taking it represents a significant health risk.
Although cannabis has been smoked widely in Western countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana.
I suspect that a day’s breathing in any city with poor air quality poses more of a threat than inhaling a day’s dose — which for many ailments is just a portion of a joint — of marijuana.”
May 5, 2006 – Lester Grinspoon, MD Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, wrote in his opinion article, “Puffing is the Best Medicine,” published May 5, 2006 in the Los Angeles Times:
“… I think that it would be difficult to extract from these data the conclusion that marijuana is protective against lung cancer. But that is not an unreasonable hypothesis.”
Donald P. Tashkin, MD, Director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratories at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), responded when asked at the June 2005 meeting of the International Cannabinoid Research Society if “in at least one category [marijuana-only smokers and lung cancer], it almost looked like there was a negative correlation, i.e. a protective effect”:
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000234
Was there anybody else who noticed that all of the major news outlets didn’t even mention the marijuana comment in his routine?
Way to go Jimmy — Obama NEEDS more of this from ALL MEDUA on a daily basis
Way to go Jimmy — Obama NEEDS more of this from ALL MEDIA on a daily basis
All I know is my daughter works for the prison system and her BF retired 2 yrs ago from the prison system..he now works for the FBI and I know many others working in those fields as well as police will not be voting yes on it this year in california. many police, prison employees are unwilling to relocate to accomodate a new job/career. I believe also, those persons could do many other jobs with some of the training many have. But so many are comfortable in their 10-15-20 years where they’ve been & do not want change. I believe it needs to be looked @ further. that’s all I’m saying..nothing more. I personally am all for it. And it’s not just the prison system employees (CA has the most prisons), law enforcemant job changes/loss. There would be so many repercussions. Many self proclaimed ‘stoners’ just want it to pass and there’s more to it! Peace
Marijauna has been medicinally legal here for 16 years. This year, once again, California will put legalizing it to be just like a pack of cigarettes, on the ballot…where it’s been many times before. It’s not only job reassignment, which most in law enforcement are against this cuz they don’t want to relocate, be reassigned. My original comment only meant i can understand the presidents turn around on it. he’s an intelligent man. Unlike many people who come to thiss places and show us how uninformed so many regular/average people are. But then I just read an article on the statistics of the average joe’s in our country….a little over 60% are average or below intelligence. I always say I will never again write anything on these post whatever you want responses to an issue….ignorance abounds here. People i guess just do not care to be educated in this country…but they wanna go to the corner store 7 but pot…hey…whatever…..educate yourselves before writing for all to see how uneducated you are.
“If you think it through, you’ll discover that jobs ie law enforcement, would be a large area of job loss, prison/state workers..who are already losing jobs/being laid off here.”
Holy cow, you want to keep people in jail so that prison workers don’t lose jobs?
“Herp Derp says:
April 29, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Marijuana may lead to lung cancer but there have been very few reports of it due to the fact people dont chain smoke marijuana in the way people chain smoke cigarettes”
quote
Your so wrong. Israeli studies have shown that those that only smoke weed ,inhale totaly diverent substances than smoking tobaco. Its not proven that those give you cancer.But there is proof that smoking weed wil lower and prevent cancer from growing. So where do you vind your proof from your statement? Breathe wil give you cancer to.Proven fact.Do you stop to breathe now?
LEGALIZE BABY!! ONE LOVE
WEED IS THE CURE PEOPLE
hopefully one day all u idiots will see
Jimmy Kimmel, I just became a fan!!!
Thank you for speaking up about an issue that Mr. Obama tries very hard to ignore! Our country needs more people like you!
SALUTE!!!
“a little over 60% are average or below intelligence.” Followed by a rant about how uneducated everyone else is.
I’m glad I actually read the comments for once, because that’s solid gold.
The Republicans worry about what your doing in the bed room and the Democrats worry what your doing in your living room while your watching SNL after a long day at work. Jesus, whats so bad about having a good laugh after a 10 hour work day and having a few puffs of herb? Im in no way voting for Obama this year,
They won’t legalize it, because the prison industry makes so much money off of inmates.
Law is a crooked business, if justice is real, it sure as hell isn’t anywhere on this planet.
jazzmin shut up are u tryin to educate us in what way cause i cant listen to idiots like u speak
The bottom line, President Obama, is that marijuana is safer than the two legal drugs – alcohol and tobacco, particularly if used vaporized or from food. Lets give Americans the choice of a safer drug. Or, perhaps, we keep voting until we get the candidate that won’t back track off this issue.
The only hope for legalization on the federal level is for Obama to keep acting like he is dead set against it. This will force the Republicans to be for it and call this a “violation of our fundamental Constitutional liberties” and “Un-American”.
Or we’ll have to take our government back from the military industrialist that have owned it since WWII…
Hasn’t Obama ever heard of the 10th Amendment? He needs to read the Constitution. The 10th Amendment is basically states nullification of unlawful federal acts, and cannabis/hemp prohibition is certainly one of them. In the 1800’s before the Civil War, the federal government passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slave owners of slaves who had escaped into free states to track them down and reclaim their “property.” A lot of the northern states nullified this law by enacting laws of their own which forbade slave owners from venturing into their states to reclaim their slaves, thus nullifying federal law. It’s been done before, and it needs to be done again with the cannabis laws.
Raymonnd Likes it in the butt.
Jazzmin, you must be a troll… ‘I smoke pot everyday, but think it should be illegal; because somebody needs to be abused for it.’ If you’re serious, that sounds completely borderline. As a nurse, you should know what I mean. Have you no empathy? There are plenty of crimes the police can work on, marijuana laws are just a distraction for them. Even while getting paid for it, the police know enforcing prohibition is worthless and there are better things they could be doing.
eat it mills!
Two thumbs up for last comment. Thanks Jimmy, yes we do care, and again thank you for speaking the truth. We do vote. Mr. president I hope you realize this.
those “jobs” of prison and state workers are tax dollars we don’t need to spend. if we legalized pot, we could focus on creating jobs that promote a productive society, helping schools, medicine, even military for that matter. legalizing pot doesn’t lose jobs. if anything, we create jobs by allowing a multibillion dollar industry to finally contribute to the economy.
“Holy cow, you want to keep people in jail so that prison workers don’t lose jobs?”
I don’t believe it’s right either. But take the US’s current unemployment rates. Add to that employment losses in the DEA, Local PD, State PD, Prison workers, Rehabilitation programs, and any and every industry that is touched by those organizations: automotive, aeronautical, firearms, high tech, equipment suppliers etc.
The US is way too far down the rabbit hole to just up and quit. Again, I don’t think it’s right either, but the options are limited.
Uh, I hate to spoil the party but DESPITE EXTENSIVE NEWS COVERAGE THE SUBJECT OF KIMMEL TALKING ABOUT MARIJUANA NEVER CAME UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU ARE ALL DROOLING ALL OVER YOURSELVES ON THIS ONE – AGAIN.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA DID NOT COVER THIS!!!!!!!!!!!
As soon as a test is developed to tell if a person is under the effects of marijuana, the argument for legalization will be taken more seriously…
[Russ responds: There are such tests. Drug recognition experts are fairly well trained to identify the tell-tale signs of current marijuana use. Science is also working on roadside saliva and epocrine (armpit) sweat tests that would have a reliability similar to the alcohol breathalyzer.]
WHY THE FUCK SHOULD ANYONE BE TESTING ME FOR WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN MY BODY???
[Russ responds: I don’t know, maybe because you’re driving erratically on the freeway near me and a cop has pulled you over to determine if you are under the influence of any impairing substances. Maybe you’re committed a crime and we’re determining your state of intoxication for evidence.]
TEST ME FOR A HARMLESS PLANT???? NEXT YOU’LL BE TESTING ME FOR HOW MUCH TEA I DRINK. FUCK OFF!!!!!!!
[Russ responds: Marijuana is not harmless. It does alter your perception and slows reaction times. Used irresponsibly, it can harm you and others.]
Hey moderator:
I’m not sure where to post this, but with that in mind, I designed some marijuana/weed/hemp leaf css bullet images for anyone to use. This will be useful primarily to people who run their own blog and know how to edit css.
Here is a link to my post where they can be downloaded. I hope this proves useful to your readers and sorry for the interruption!
http://rawlifewizard.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/free-css-image-bullets-marijuana-weed-leaf-with-drop-shadow/?preview=true&preview_id=267&preview_nonce=a8eb20bd1e
Jazzmin,
Sorry to say it. But I am far more educated than you. I have two degrees. You think selfishly and unclear. Think before you type or speak in the future and don’t make up statistics. No one enjoys a liar. Marijuana has had a place in this world way longer then it has been banned. It has actually been banned for 1% of it’s lifespan on earth. As a nurse i’m sure they explained to you in your clincals that humans have actually had marijuana in their diet for so long that we developed cannabinoid receptors in our brains. So you may choose to never smoke pot…that’s your choice. But obviously your ancestors disagreed at some point…over and over and over again.
I just can’t stand people who will argue with actual science and claim to hold a position in progressive medicine.
You can tell that Jimmy Kimmel did a good job upsetting the cannabis prohibition movement by reading this blog.
Go Jimmy!
The DEA should have never been created. It’s creation alone I believe is un- constitutional. Narcs at the local and state level are gonna lose alot, but not all of the jobs. Oh boo fucking hoo. Prison workers and rehab programs? If anything we will gain rehab jobs, and the prison workers can go the same route as the DEA, boo fucking hoo. My county has a marijuana task force, don’t care if they got fired tomorrow, actually, I would prefer much worse for the scum. Aeronautical jobs? I dont know how many space weed prohibiton jobs there are, but I do feel for them most of all. Lol.
My bad, that would be aerospace, not aeronautics, still sounds funny though. Space weed narc, lol. Mmmmm space weed.
Obama laughed off previous attempts to get MJ as a discussed and considered item, so how ironic is it that a comedian /court jester stuck the issue right in Hope & Change’s face!
You have a new fan Jimmy!!!
wake up congress
Pardon me Obama!
God Bless Jimmy Kimmel!
Are you people dumb? Pot will not be legalized by the federal government. Alcohol companies and big pharma pay top dollar too keep marijuana off the shelves. The federal government is owned by big pharma. Do you people actually think the smart people in government are truly that ignorant over this plant? Its all about the payoffs. the last thing big pharma wants is a natural cure for sleep, for anxiety, for sickness. The last thing the alcohol companies want is from someone who used to pound booze but now loves pot even more. Its all about money… It doesnt matter how liberal a president is. It will all come down to people voting on ballots basically making the government to shut down their vote. when that happens THEN the pressure from the people will take over.
the government knows it can create hundreds of billions in tax dollars, the government knows the cures, the government knows the millions of jobs it could create… ya get it!? Its not about you and i its about the payoffs lol comon people. Just like how oil companies are stronger than our government. if they werent we wouldnt be in two wars for such a stupid reason. for OIL
Jasmin, I just came on today and usually watch what people have to say. If it’s something new I will make a comment and share with facebook so it gets passed to 300 people and so on. I come on just to inform other people. You claim that there are so many uneducated people posting on this site then why let it bother you? As long as the people who know what’s going on can convince theose to support the cause that should be all that matters for now. Nobody is educated on most of the governments policies but people vote them in constantly. This is a lot different because people just want to get theyre opinion out. The more people that post means they start seeing it as an ok thing to talk about and they post too. If someone is uneducated then educate them. Don’t complain about it.
Obama claims there is nothing he can do on his own but he can do it all on his own. He has the authority to put a stop to half of this debate (not really a debate when other side doesn’t respond). All he has to do is say he is taking marijuana off of the schedule 1 drug list with other drugs like heroin. Morphine isn’t even schedule 1. He can end this by himself in a day. There would be debates after but he can do it and is lying straight to every American when he says he doesn’t have control over that.
155 names needed on petition out of 25,0000 from the raid on Oaksterdamn . https://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-medical-marijuana-raids . sign if you haven’t already
Pot smokers aren’t the only ones who vote on this issue. There are also those of us who’ve had loved ones suffer due to the inability for states to have truly solid medical laws.
I don’t smoke it, vape it, or use it in any way at the moment (nor have I in the past, beyond a test of potency). But I’ll vote against anybody who isn’t willing to even consider legalizing.
in my state i would go to jail for being caught with as little as a seed and a stem
“If you think it through, you’ll discover that jobs ie law enforcement, would be a large area of job loss, prison/state workers..who are already losing jobs/being laid off here.”
In my opinion, this is the only argument the so-called ‘learned’ trolls have somewhat right. Yes, our leaders have hardwired a prohibition economy of big government drug warriors and a criminal justice system. Big business is also dependent on not competing with legal marijuana and hemp derivatives. The for profit prison system needs to grow, not shrink in the eyes of a crazy businessman. It is true that if the government legalized weed at the Fed level and made all states legal overnight, this could harm the economy by laying off government jobs in a monetary bubble economy. So these in-humanists have some kind of point if you like western civilization. But the short answer is that the human being is more important than the dollar!!!
So the complicated answer is state by state! Slowly… Allow states like California and Colorado to establish legal marijuana dispensaries, with doctor’s approval and tight regulation “from seed to sale.” But what does Obama do? He goes after the fledgling legal retail market; and puts a big dent in the Oakland “Oaksterdam” model city and commercial property improvements. Obama attacked states rights to implement highly regulated, production and distribution, not Federal jobs or the prison-militry-security-Wall Street industrial complexes.
On his show Monday Jimmy did have Vanessa Williams on and she talked about how she used to drink and smoke pot a lot. She even mentioned that her mom kept her old bowl and won’t give it back. Hopefully that means more celebreties with followers will come out on the issue. But most likely the only people that will even know he said that stuff are the people that read these blogs. I even tried posting it on CNN many times while they were disucssing the event and no more than one or two people commented. Overall we are doing a horrible job at spreading the word. I’ve signed every petition, written every government official over and over, donated to NORML, and have spoken my mind since day one. But it seems like everyone is getting worked up and nothing is truly changing
Jazminn, your grammar in your comment shows how EDUCATED you are.
Learn to use proper English before you start throwing stones about education.
Im 20 years old never comitted a violent crime in my whole life, actually never comitted a crime in general. The other day i was arrested for Marijuana in the state of New Jersey or should i say New Germany, and now im looking at 5-10years in state prision. This event has absolutetly destroyed my life and so many others around me. Iam not a criminal and do not belong in state prision by any means i am educated and hardworking……This state is out of hand please could use some support
@ jazzmin
Wow…having two degrees and acting like a snob and provoking others because you claim that you are smarter than the 60% who wanted to change the federal law against cannabis.
Thanks for coming on this blog to represent the mind of a prohibitionist.
The more and more people keep coming out and I am sure over a long period time it could change.
It will never be legalized for so many reasons. I wish people would just drop the subject and move on with life. Do you think that Obama would ever do anything to jeopardize this upcoming election? RON PAUL is our only REAL hope to ever change that. Too bad he has no chance in hell of ever winning. BEAUSE OF YOU AMERICA!!! There’s are so many blue collar, redneck, christian extremist to ever get it done. So just say fuck it and blaze one!!
[Editor’s note: Your correct that Ron Paul will never be elected president, but you’re incorrect that cannabis will always be prohibited. Current polling data indicates 50% of the U.S. public support legalization and by 2021, according to NYT stats and polling guru Nate Silver, 60% of the public will want legalization.
Cannabis freedom exists for those who want and pursue it…Legalization or bust!]
@Trillseek3r
Never say never, friend.
Trillseek3r, my friend,
You gotta have a little faith and patience. Legalization isn’t gonna happen overnight. I’ve had to live thru this prohibition for over 35 years; a few more won’t hurt me.
Like the editor replied to you, polling shows that the U.S. public is slowly but invariably changing for the better. Back in the early ’70s, when I first started partaking, only some 20-30% supported legalization. I never gave up hope, even back then, so I implore you to not give up hope now that we’ve gotten so close.
Don’t forget, we’ve only had one vote in our history to legalize, in Calif (last year?), and we barely lost (thanks in part to libertarian, every-man-for-himself back-stabbers).
@evening bud…Hope washington and colorado can change that in November!
Trillseek3r, I have watched the opinion of people change vastly is the past decade since I started using cannabis. If things keep progressing as they have been, it will be legalized within 5-10 years.
Trillseek3r either you are a troll or a fool. Even if it is not in our lifetime all things end. Marijuana prohibition has an expiration date and I think it will be sooner than you think. You just feel it won’t end because you watch crap like Fox news. Many of these news organizations report in a way to make it seem like we are losing at a war that will never end. Every war ends and it should be obvious who will win because cannabis consumers are not ever going away. Even Pat Robertson has endorsed decriminalization and it seems the only ones keeping prohibition alive is the DEA, our government, and businesses that profit off prohibition. Such a big lie can only be kept afloat so long and the clock is ticking.
Initiative #40
“No tickets, fines or imprisonment for hemp or cannabis alive or dead on your person, property or vehicle’
This will be on the ballot in Nov, 2012 if we get enough signatures by July 18th. We need registered voters to sign. We desperately need donations for more petitions. Please help if you can. Go to the website or facebook page to see how we can make this happen. It will be amended to the CONSTITUTION of the state of Colorado.
Thank Michelle LaMay of Cannabis University for writing this initiative!!!You must be REGISTERED to VOTE!!! http://www.leg.state.co.us
http://www.relief4cannabis.webs.com
or
Go to:Colorado Relief for Possession of Cannabis Act 2012 ;
trillseek3r: there are many reasons to beleive what you say can be but only part or the way plausible, the only thing that is keeping me from believing that is the fact that unlike an acual drug you there has been no deaths recorded for overdose on pot. if alcohol and tobacco (whitch are also concidered a drug) are legal then i see no harm in makeing this fine herb a legel one, i mean there are so many thousands of deaths from alcohol and tobacco alone that it might be good to get someones head straight and get on the right track of mind if ya know what i mean. i say put a tax on that shit if ya have to, fire one up and let the good times role!
It is so sad that such a beautiful plant is hated so much. I truly hope it will be legalized, but I think politicians are too stupid and afraid to swallow their pride
This is fantasic, that someone had the balls to confront the Pres in person and so public. You can bet your last dollor the Pres listened to Jimmys words. Today we have Nancy P. publicly asking congress for changes in marijuana policy. Trillseek3r, “hang in there son, hang in there”, It’s a lot closer than you think>>>
Peace & Danks
I suggest the term “re-legalize” since it was legal in the U.S until 1937. Just like alcohol it was once legal, then illegal, and soon we hope legal again like alcohol. How incredibly sad and ill-advised for Pres. Obama to renege on his campaign promise to ease up on med. marijuana states like CA. Hammer a significant part of his base? Is he nuts? Who is advising him? The Repubs act like the Tea Party and NRA are angels from God and they don’t give a damn what you or I think. Obama thinks hammering US (!?) will somehow make the right-wing extremists love him?? Taking out Oaksterdam and Mr. Lee in Oakland, CA was a terrible thing and puts Obama on the wrong side of history. Very sad. We can’t let Romney win by default, but this stinks. Go for the violent, unethical folks and you might get some sympathy, but these fools are closing dispensaries in California and folks are angry.
Ron Paul!!!!!
President Obama those people are waiting for a President that knows real people!
blue collar, redneck, christian extremist persons smoke marijuana, too.
So 2021 like when the mass majority of the current 55yr+ with old time views die? and the rest have woken up a little more?
OK folks its time to make a stand.
The only thing that can get things done is money and votes. Most of us have voting rights, some have money. Email this message to your elected officials and stand firm. Also send to like minded friends and family:
To the President, Members of the US Congress, State and local elected officials:
Criminal marijuana prohibition is a failure. Over 20 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses since 1965 with over 800,000 arrests in 2010. The problem is getting worse – not because of the benign plant, but because of the obsolete laws. The time has come to amend criminal prohibition and replace it with a system of legalization, taxation, regulation, and education.
I can no longer vote for elected officials that support the the current laws. I have decided not to vote for any politician that does not publicly support the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including cultivation for personal use, and casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts.
Signed
Voting Citizen
& Member of the Movement
Why is this stuff illegal! They need to legalize this so people can take this withouth feeling like criminals or outcasts of society!
well even if it done get legalized.. u can still find weed in your local corners… even online …
I’m frustrated with the speed that Governments run at to change things in peoples favor for the good. Horrified at the speed that Governments can change things in their favor for the bad. We need to change our whole system not just dissolve one law at a time.
Until all of you fucking meth heads and heroin addicts stop using, they will NEVER legalize marijuana. Marijuana sales are what funds and keeps the real drug criminals in business. So they have to crack down on pot to stop the larger problems.
I don’t care, really… I’m gonna smoke it either way…
Hell on for tha weeeeeed!!
Legalization of recreational use has passed in Colorado & Washington!
Obama is the biggest piece of shit. I hope I get one 50cal n a clear view
Thr are still states where fathers have no rights to see thr children. If parents split, a mother has absolutely no legal obligation to let the father vista, speak to or see his kids. You think this country will ever fully legalize or decriminalize pot? Your all too high. States take too much pride in locking up people for possessing, growing and selling trees. Proof? Watch how happy these ass holes are when they talk about the busts or raids on homes for pot. Thr happier than pigs in shit. Cops wouldn’t be busting, writing tickets for herb & para. I got a $300 ticket in Texas for a oneie and they destroyed my car looking for weed. If cops were at all on the same page w legalizing weed, they wouldnt arrest, ticket and destroy lives every chance they had over it. They could just look the other way or let it slide. I got 2-5 years & charged w a 2nd degree felony in 2000, for having 23grams of pot, because I was busted within 200 yards of a school. Never been in any trouble before. It’s ruined my life! When are you seriously not within 200 yards of a school, daycare or church? Free country my ass
I’m in Cincinnati if anyone thinks they can get that 2nd degree felony off my record. It still haunts me to this day. I’m 35 now and get pulled over immediately and asked to search my car , when an officer runs my plates. All they see is a felon who possessed pot 13 yrs ago. They want to search my car, be disrespectful and treat me Like a murderer. I was housed w rapists, pedophiles, armed robbers & the most violent people in the prison that didn’t happen to kill thr victims. If anyone wants to hear what happened to me in Texas 2 yrs ago, when I got that $300 ticket for a onie, just let me know. It was a 31/2 hour long nightmare & all because of that felony for 23g of weed 13 years ago.
Pot…there are so many haters..here is the way I see it, if pot was legalized could you guys imagine tax rates it would be off the roof legalizing weed is not onley good for our benefits but aswell as the governments if our country wanted out of depth they would have legalized years ago we would be better of..it has been proven to be worse then cigs or booze don’t believe me google it..my favorite quote for you assholes who decline my option ” weed is a plant that grows in the ground if god didn’t want it it wouldn’t be around so all you tuckered that don’t get high shut the fuck up and give it a try..no one has the right to judge with out trying it!!!
Ever hear if the snow ball effect? Legalization is closer than u think. Thank u Colorado & Washington state.
Its time for the world to WAKE UP and LEGALIZE. I am now a convicted felon for possession and intent to distribute, I only had one fucking plant I had no plans of selling anything.
I was sentenced to 6 month’s imprisonment 250 hours community service and a 2,000 dollar fine im fed up with the idiotcrasy they call the justice system
And gay will never be allowed to marry either. Remember that? See what presidents do when they find themselve in hotwater? They through us a bone. Sad thing is what are they going to do when they run out of bones and permission slips???