At this year’s NORML Conference, which was held the first week of October, much emphasis was placed on the upcoming legalization initiatives in Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. One of the featured speakers was former NORML Board Member and writer for The Stranger in Washington, Dominic Holden. Dominic delivered an impassioned speech defending Washington’s marijuana legalization initiative, I-502, and spoke at length at the importance of winning initiatives and how we can progress towards full legalization in America.
You can watch the video below:
“The first [complaint of the opposition] is they don’t like a provision…that says if you have 5ng active THC in your blood for every mL of whole blood then you are guilty of DUI.
What the opponents have been saying, is that someone who has used marijuana, a regular marijuana user…a medical marijuana user, will test positive for exceeding that level a day later, two days later, a week later. Well guess what? They don’t have a single f***ing scientific study to back them up. In fact, the science proves them wrong. What science shows is the vast majority of marijuana users drop below that 5ng level within a few hours and none within 12-24 hours and certainly not a day later, two days later, a week later. Their argument is fundamentally flawed, because it’s a lie.
They are also concerned about a federal challenge, they say, “If we pass I-502 the federal government is going to challenge us on legalizing pot.”
News Flash: That’s the damn point.”
Expect much more video coverage of this year’s NORML Conference in the coming days and be sure to visit www.newapproachwa.org to learn more about the effort to tax and regulate cannabis in Washington State this November.
CAN DO !
Everyone who visits this site should watch this video and get all their friends to watch as well. A healthy dose of positive attitude that will really convince people that they CAN start changing things NOW and remove the persecution of marijuana and it’s users . Very timely indeed – thanks Dominic for an extremely eloquent and sensible speech.
You need to raise the level of detectability way up from 5ng, up to the ng point where someone really is still under the influence. Once the subject feels that s/he has come down, what is their ng level then?
Has anybody done any studies on it in this way?
So, listen up from down here at the bottom. Are the American people going to spend more money if Obama is re-elected or are they going to spend more money for the holidays if Romney is elected? What the word about that on Wall Street?
I say, here’s how to orchestrate it. Keep that boost in the economy going even in the down months after Christmas when people are paying down that credit card debt. Some nice nudges along the cannabis continuum toward the legalization end would be positive for the economy because you time the supply side sales of equipment and materials for growing cannabis, in whatever setting: industrial, medicinal, adult recreational. That’s called regulation, you prohibitionist typhoid dogs. It’s winter, you have time. For spring planting, people will demand seeds. Money is there to be made. Consider Fair Trade financial assistance to Mexico for economic development to keep and convert to high quality sativa varieties and indicas that are bred in a longer growing season. Depends where you are in Mexico, doesn’t it? At least for the ones here growing on public lands, unless you’re going to let them stay, give’m some other kind of work here.
Are are Menschen. How would you want it if it were the other way around and you were in their shoes in a foreign country, makin’ some money and now you’re out of your cash inflow. Your anchor is gone. You’re suddenly going to be outta work once growing is above ground, or you gotta become legal somehow.
It can be part of a biomass crop program for your Brazil lovers out there, you know, the whole ethanol from sugar cane route, but with crops that can be grown in CONUS. Have you looked at hybrid cars that burn pure ethanol or vegetable oil, a mix of whatever, and keeping the electric car battery companies in the U.S. alive. I say a synergistic business relationship between railroads and electricity delivery companies’ networks sucks in windmill electricity to be the core foundation network of delivering to the gas stations that will also have to receive, route and store the electricity for electric cars.
Does a new military intervention in Syria happen right after the election? What if it had to happen right now, just before the election? Would fewer people vote for Romney because they don’t want a change in leadership while the nation is at militarily engaged? Too much shit could go wrong, and it’ll all land on the one in there now. When the hell is someone going to mention and organize some kind of modernization talks for the Islamic regions cooperative for money creature comforts instead of weapons. See what they can do with being allowed to grow cannabis, still no alcohol, I don’t know, maybe just beer, microbreweries. You know, mate, hard western currency buys more there for expats who want to set up. And, you national security hunks, mmm you’re delicious, something different for the women/men there. Lotta bites there. Above ground intelligence shell companies can follow the money trail from seed to sale, because the threat of shackles is off with taxes attempted to be paid properly.
Just end the chaos of cannabis prohibition.
The crest is building
2012 will really change our world
Its time for all good people
To steer this planet.
If the cannibus law is passed and worded in such a way, the Federal Government would have no authority to come in and bust people.
If the State cannibus law was worded to state that the County Sheriff (the highest law enbforcement authority in the County), must stop and or Arrest any Federal Agents from arresting cannibus users in their County.
The Many County Sheriff’s have authority over every County in the State, therefore the County Sheriff’s could stop all arrests in the State by the Feds by simply arresting or threatening to arrest the Feds for attempting to arrest citizens within the County Sheriff’s jurisdiction, and they would have the full authority to do so.
It is the Duty of the County Sheriff to protect his/her citizens from harrassment or arrests from the Federal Government without a valid warrant, and if the State Legislatures and the citizens passed a law in favor of cannibus usage or possession, then the Feds would be guilty of attempting to arrest cannibus users which would violate State Laws and the Feds themselves could and should be Arrested and Jailed by the County Sheriff.
Hey Mike, well if you’re gonna have a pipe dream–make it a good one!
Laws can be tweaked…first there has to be a conversation. I truly believe Arnold signed CA’s decriminalization to defeat legalization…sometimes it’s about a little ground at a time: like chess.
More and more people are starting to voice everything and we need people like ourselves to help promote the message to people who have no idea! This will get the uncertainty out of the air and help people support the right cause!
with 2 nhstc studies saying stoned drivers are safer drivers does that mean they are going to start pulling people over for obeying every traffic law to the t?
@burny
“with 2 nhstc studies saying stoned drivers are safer drivers does that mean they are going to start pulling people over for obeying every traffic law to the t?”
I can’t seem to get an appropriate hit by googling ‘nhstc’. What is it? Some National Health government organization? I’ve avoided these kind of conclusions to studies for years, but now I’d like to know more.
“does that mean they are going to start pulling people over for obeying every traffic law to the t?”
No. A cop needs probable cause to pull you over or detain you.
Samian, not at a check point. The law should state, “positive for xxx in yyy concentrations and failed a sobriety test.” Positive on a chemical test doesn’t predict whether someone is inebriated by marijuana. Alcohol is different in that its effects on our nerves are very specific to the concentration of it and a chemical test is accurate. The chemical tests should be ordered *after* failing a sobriety test or some other behavior the police think is reasonably suspect.
If drivers cannot past a sobriety test, they shouldn’t be driving and should face sanctions. If you get loopy when you smoke, then don’t drive folks–being careful about other people’s rights to life does come first. The only real tweak this needs is that a sobriety test should also be required for proof of a violation. There is no good reason not to support this law.
The feds will just attack the dispensaries. The answer is MONEY. Big corrections and prison building need to keep their cells filled at $125+ a day and the drug war is the tool. We have more people in jail than all of the western countries in the world combined and both sides went to college somewhere and new lots of smokers-none of whom became junkies. We don’t have more violent people than all of the world combined, we have a for profit private prison industry which donates to both sides. Get Obama to reschedule weed to a #5 instead of fighting it tooth and nail and the drug war will collapse. MONEY MONEY MONEY
dude ya u can shure write you are soooo wrong !!!! you my freind have smoked to much weed read the bill mr holden and im shure u got paid for this one!!!