Just another component of Big Pharma owning Bushes donkey too. OMG.. we couldnt have natural pain killers to compete with big pharmas killers could we ? The War on Drugs is as bogus as war on teror and poverty in USA AND the War in Iraq. Just another behemoth arm of the gov that feeds off itself.
Legislator asks DEA to explain pot club raids
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/07/MN7C10IO0L.DTL&tsp=1(05-07)
"17:40 PDT WASHINGTON -- A congressional leader, citing complaints from Bay Area mayors and lawmakers, wants the Drug Enforcement Administration to explain its increased use of "paramilitary-style enforcement raids" and property forfeiture orders against medical marijuana patients and suppliers in California.
With drug trafficking and violence from international cartels on the rise, "do you think the DEA's limited resources are best utilized conducting enforcement raids on individuals and their caregivers who are conducting themselves legally under California law?" House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a letter to the agency.
He also noted the DEA's recent tactic of sending letters to hundreds of property owners who rent to medical marijuana dispensaries, advising them that they could be prosecuted and lose their property under federal law.
Property forfeitures, Conyers said, have typically been reserved for "the worst drug traffickers and kingpins" and might have the unintended effect of driving medical marijuana distribution underground. Medical marijuana advocacy groups say the letters have led to evictions and closures of dozens of supply shops that had been operating with state and local approval.
The congressman also asked how much the DEA was spending on the raids.
The letter, dated April 29, was addressed to the DEA's acting administrator, Michele Leonhart. Agency spokeswoman Rogene Waite declined to comment on the questions Wednesday, saying only that "the federal government does not recognize medical marijuana. ... The DEA, of course, would be part of the federal government."
Conyers attached a copy of a resolution approved by San Francisco supervisors in February, attacking the DEA for "its irrational policy and hysteria" and calling on the city attorney to support property owners facing prosecution or forfeiture for renting to medical marijuana dispensaries. The Los Angeles City Council also has condemned the federal agency's actions.
Conyers also cited statements by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums criticizing the DEA, and a resolution introduced by state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, urging that Congress pass a law ending federal raids and prosecutions in states that have legalized medical marijuana."
Now I get it! This is the core of the "Compassionate Conservatism," that Bush promised. So, there is no record of anyone ever dying of an overdose of pot. However, Alchohal related deaths are higher than ever, deaths attributed to tobacco are still killing millions, addiction to prescription drugs is rampant, a bumper crop of Heroin in is coming out of US occupied Afghanistan (The Taliban had almost reduced its production to nothing), the cocaine cartels of Central and South America are having bloody shootouts in the streets, but the DEA has to put an end to all of these, mostly older, terminally ill and chronically sick people. I thought the idea of Conservatism meant LESS federal government intrusion in State issues. The Republicans just want to control everyone else's lives so that they don't have to deal with their own misreable, Faux-Christian existance. Take away their alchohal, tobacco, illegal prescription drugs (Rush Slimebaugh), and they will all start committing suicide when the smoke and mirrors. disappear.
http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A21209
Bongs, Tommy Chong and Cancer
How the federal government protects Americans from these dangers
BY JAY K. RAMEY
On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a lonely field in Pennsylvania. I need not explain what else happened that day. The area of Pennsylvania that Flight 93 crashed in fell within the jurisdiction of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mary Beth Buchanan was confirmed by the United States Senate as the U.S. Attorney for this district just days after the September 11th attacks.
With the threat of homicidal maniacs flying airplanes into office buildings hanging over America, actor and comedian Tommy Chong was awakened at 5:30 am on February 24, 2003 by federal agents pounding on his front door. The agents were clad in their ninja uniforms complete with helmets, flak jackets, automatic weapons, and even helicopters hovering in the air above the house. The ninjas had a search warrant for Mr. Chong's house.
Just 18 months after the September 11th attacks, one must believe that Mr. Chong was a serious danger to the security of the United States. Perhaps he was planning an attack or was financing the terrorists. Mr. Chong's crime?: Selling bongs on the internet! This raid was all a part of Operation Pipe Dreams. This operation was headed by our heroine, Mary Beth Buchanan.
While our country was, and still is, engaged in a war on terror, Mary Beth Buchanan prosecuted 55 individuals during the Operation Pipe Dreams domestic invasion. Eventually, Tommy Chong was sent to a federal prison for 9 months. Convicting Tommy Chong of a felony and locking him up in a prison for 9 months was keeping America safe we were told by Miss Buchanan and the Justice Department. Ironically, Tommy Chong was sentenced on September 11th, two years after the attack on America.
Tommy's company, Chong Glass, was a legitimate small business operating in Southern California. The company paid state and federal taxes and provided employment to several individuals. However, General Buchanan executed her operation against Chong Glass and some other companies using a little known federal law prohibiting selling drug paraphernalia across state lines.
THE PEOPLE in California--as well as several other states--decided by the democratic process that marijuana with a doctor's approval may be used for medical purposes. However, the Imperial Federal Government will have none of this. Medical marijuana dispensaries in California are routinely raided by the ninjas that are clad in black and carrying automatic weapons.
Just an example of one of these raids was conducted on the home of Valerie Corral in the early morning hours of September 5, 2002. Apparently finding Osama Bin Laden and stopping Al-Qaeda was not a priority for the government just one year after the attack on America. Valeria Corral operated the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in Santa Cruz California. WAMM had been dispensing medical marijuana to seriously ill people (mostly dying cancer and AIDS patients) for 9 years at the time of the raid. About 30 agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration showed up at Mrs. Corral's door. They shoved the 50-year-old-woman to the ground, handcuffed her behind her back, and, after handcuffing her, shoved an automatic weapon barrel into the back of her head. Fortunately, Mrs. Corral has not been sent to prison yet, but many other operators of dispensaries in California have been sentenced to federal prison.
Although none of the medical marijuana raids can be attributed directly to Mary Beth Buchanan, she was up to her antics again in May of 2008. General Buchanan rallied the troops for another operation: Operation True Test. This paramilitary operation headed up by General Buchanan targeted businesses that sell products that mask drug use in urine tests. One of the problems with this "operation" is that legal experts that are more experienced and scholarly than I can find no federal law that make these products illegal.
However, much more alarming than Mary Beth Buchanan heading up an operation to search businesses and seize products that are not prohibited by federal law is the assault on the First Amendment that occurred during these raids. One of the businesses that was raided under Operation True Test was a company called Spectrum Labs. As well as selling urine masking agents, Spectrum Labs also sold DVDs of the movie "a/k/a Tommy Chong." This movie is a documentary about the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of Tommy Chong. Parts of the movie make fun of Mary Beth Buchanan, mostly using her own words, by showing clips of press conferences she gave during Operation Pipe Dreams that show how much of an outrageously silly woman she is. Approximately 10,000 copies this movie were seized during the raid.
Even if the raids conducted pursuant to Operation True Test were actually based on violations of a federal law, what could possibly justify that seizure of a documentary film that was also being sold by the company? So far, Mary Beth Buchanan has declined to comment to the media.
We continually hear stories in the media about how American soldiers are spending more time on repeated combat tours in Iraq than they are in the U.S. Soldiers are also having their enlistments involuntary extended. I served as an infantryman in the United States Army in the 1980's. I support the War on Terror. Even though I am now in my 40's if the federal government called on me to be a soldier again because there are not enough men to fight, I would do it without hesitation. However, I do not think the government needs me. The government should send to Iraq and Afghanistan all of these big, tough guys that throw 50-year-old women that provide medical marijuana to dying patients down to the ground and raid the homes of non-violent people like Tommy Chong while clad as ninjas and displaying automatic weapons. Maybe the resources of the federal government would be better spent in the War on Terror rather than bringing terror to peaceful United States citizens.
Thank you Mary Beth Buchanan and the other agents of our federal government. While American soldiers are being blown up in Iraq and Afghanistan and while Al-Qaeda is undoubtedly planning its next attack on America, you are protecting me from bongs, Tommy Chong and Californian's that distribute marijuana to people that are dying from cancer.
"The 1960's were when hallucinogenic drugs were really big. And I don't think it's a coincidence that we had the shows then like The Flying Nun."
Ellen DeGeneres
A hippie was walking down the street one day when a pixie bumped into him. "Today is your lucky day!" said the pixie. "I'm gonna give you two wishes. What will the first one be?" The hippie thinks for a moment and then says, "I want a never-ending joint." So the pixie snaps his fingers and there is this king-sized joint. The hippie jacks it up and starts puffing. After five hits the joint is still the same length. Next the pixie says, "...And number two?" The hippie replies, "This is so cool man! Gimme another one!"
I gather you don't see this as an issue, RM.
I was supposed to be outraged that they arrested Tommy Chong?
Yes. He was a bad comedian. Throw the book at him!
Tell it to Urban Tulsa. Attach your jokes.
The Oklahoma Democratic Party passed a resolution supporting medical marijuana in the party platform at the last convention. An attempt to have it removed from the floor was overwhelmingly defeated by the delegation.
http://waronyou.com/2008/06/legal-drugs-kill-far-more-than-illegal-florida-says/
Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says
I wonder if the autopsies were performed on the elderly who they over medicate in the nursing home industry...Pot will never make you kill someone, beat someone up, drive and kill someone on the road, and many other destructive things that alcohol does EVERY day! The money spent going after pot users and growers could be better spent on the prosecution of those who sell coke, heroin, speed, the KILLER drugs. Oh, and alcohol and tobacco-they kill more people than ALL illegal drug deaths combined! But this is a stupid, childish, puritanical society and will be so for many more years if the repugs have their way..... The Queen of England used pot to lessen her menstuation symptoms-did she go nuts when smoking pot? NO! The alcohol and tobacco industry lobby intensely to make sure pot is not legalized as it would take away from their business interests-anyone surprised by that?
What the drug war DOES do is create a situation that allows the tight-fisted blackshirts to break down doors, rough, cuff and terrorise people who are most often minding their own business. Not that it is good business mind you....but it certainly is voluntary. There is lots of money in the enforcement side....PLUS, the CIA really needs a market. Google CIA Opium Heroin Cocaine and you will be set with some fireside reading for a good stretch. There cannot be that much smoke without some criminal activity somewhere. Logic demands that the 'Drug Warlords' in foreign countries are dealing with people at a similar level in ours. Once and if the profit and sleeze factor was taken out of the game, a lot less people would be interested in playing it.
In the same vein, Oklahoma has recently outlawed the Salvia plant. Not the extract, but the plant. Chewing or smoking the Salvia plant is extremly weak and nearly impossible to enforce (it looks like about a dozen other plants).
The extracts have been recently featured on youtube in the 20 to 80 times potency range. People get high, act like an idiot for 5 or 10 minutes, and then get laughed at. This is not a high in which the user is capable of driving (or walking for that matter), they can not be violent, nor is it addictive. Certainly something worth throwing some kid in jail for YEARS as a schedule 1 offender (/sarcasm).
I can not longer buy as much cough medicine or antihistamine that I want. I have to go to the pharmacy to get a decongestant. I am ID'd to buy spray paint or bug spray. Multiple plants are illegal. But somehow people keep finding new ways of getting high... and they always will.
Why not concentrate on things that are actually a problem? Addictive, leading to violence, etc. Our drug policy needs to be seriously re-evaluated. Just because a substance can be used to get high does not mean it should be illegal. At least I can still get cheesed. :P
Pleasure = illegal?
/don't do drugs other than a cigar every now and then and alcohol, haven't since I had a son. So no self interest here.
Feh. I've never smoked pot, but I'm not going to get on my high horse and advocate keeping the stuff illegal.
Just treat marijuana like booze. Only licensed stores can sell it, tax the hell out of it, keep it out of the workplace, and bust people who are driving under the influence of it. End of story.
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588
Feh. I've never smoked pot, but I'm not going to get on my high horse and advocate keeping the stuff illegal.
Just treat marijuana like booze. Only licensed stores can sell it, tax the hell out of it, keep it out of the workplace, and bust people who are driving under the influence of it. End of story.
+1
Drug interdiction is a muli-billion dollar industry, and has resulted in the type of corruption not seen since Prohibition. We could put our resources to better use.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/rico2/reefer.gif)
Sorry it just seemed appropriate......... [}:)]
Well, bravo Fadder.
A sea change is coming.....
I just think drugs should be decriminalized and not controlled except in the same vein as the over the counters and prescriptions are currently regulated.
Just categorize herb as herb or weed as weed without corporate involvement. It's innocent and contrary to the original intent which was to keep South American and Mexican illegals out of the USA and not even give them the opportunity for citizenship.
It's not popular to say it this way, but people who STILL worry about pot/marijuana/cannabis being a "problem" are just stupid. They have the most basic and fundamental shortcomings with the available facts. It's an indefensible assertion/false belief. Pharmaceuticals kill more people than al Queda every day. But they enrich the GOP because Big Pharma is a direct contributor as well as revolving door entity. (Don Rumsfeld worked for Searle, pushing Aspartame among other unsafe compounds.)
The war in Mexico and Afghanistan is nothing but loaded corruption and inefficient policy.
Pot is not like drinking tea, though, either. It is clearly a victim of racial profiling and its propensity to avoid being taxed, but to glibly wax over its effects is self-defeating for advocates.
quote:
Originally posted by patric
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588
Feh. I've never smoked pot, but I'm not going to get on my high horse and advocate keeping the stuff illegal.
Just treat marijuana like booze. Only licensed stores can sell it, tax the hell out of it, keep it out of the workplace, and bust people who are driving under the influence of it. End of story.
+1
Drug interdiction is a muli-billion dollar industry, and has resulted in the type of corruption not seen since Prohibition. We could put our resources to better use.
Ending the war on weed and the war in Iraq could free up plenty of resources. As Rwarn suggested, Regulated legalization would produce a new, potentially substantial, revenue stream. New revenues that could be devoted to the technological advancement and affordability of green technologies in transportation, energy, and construction for example.
quote:
Originally posted by rwarn17588
Feh. I've never smoked pot, but I'm not going to get on my high horse and advocate keeping the stuff illegal.
Just treat marijuana like booze. Only licensed stores can sell it, tax the hell out of it, keep it out of the workplace, and bust people who are driving under the influence of it. End of story.
+1
The addictive drugs are more of a problem for me. Personally, if someone wants to do heroine, crack, or cocaine at home I don't care. BUT, those often problems that have a broader reach (addiction can often leads to irrational behavior and crime) that takes them out of the home and into society. BUT, the same can be said for alcohol (alcoholics certainly have a detrimental societal impact) - but we find ways to control it and deal with it.
Hallucinogens are mostly harmless if used responsibly, and were up until the 1970's. Maybe set up "hotels" authorized to sell where the user and the host can't leave for 12 hours after taking the drug...
hell, I don't know. But it's clear the current system hasn't worked for any level of drug for 20+ years - it probably isn't going to just start working tomorrow. It'd probably be wise to figure out a new system and tweak it as needed than insist all other methods are horrible.
quote:
Originally posted by Double A
New revenues that could be devoted to the technological advancement and affordability of green technologies in transportation, energy, and construction for example.
Smoke for a cleaner environment. I like the irony in that.
IMHO, pot is less deleterious than alcohol to society in terms of health issues, absenteeism, family issues, crime, etc. That's why I've never understood why it is illegal, yet alcohol is.
The biggest crime which involves pot appears to be the possession or sale of it. Incarcerating people on pot charges only clogs up cells which could be used to warehouse much more serious threats to society. Most of the people I know who use or have used it would use it in their homes and would be too lazy when under the influence to leave the house.
Pot doesn't give most users a hang-over, there's no more a threat of it winding up in the workplace than alcohol, and the old theory of it being a "gateway drug" is way over-rated by the anti-drug-at-all-cost crowd.
Effects of alcohol impairment can last for most of the next day, whereas the pot user might be a little groggier than usual the next morning.
I tend to disagree on hallucinegens, opiates, and stimulants like cocaine or meth. They do have medicinal purposes under proper supervision, but left to individuals, crime, death, destruction of the family, and mental illness result.
Peace and harmony on one thread for once.....
Puff.
Now, let's get Obama to fire that Bush-appointee Mary Beth Buchanan, whose high-profile prosecution of Tommy Chong for selling glass pipes on the internet is just a single example of the stupidity of the War Against Just One Herb.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9mnrkJu2S7Mly9xuWs4p9_TRkdwD9BE7TDO1
Feds to issue new medical marijuana policy
By DEVLIN BARRETT (AP) – 5 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department.
Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.
The guidelines issued by the department do, however, make it clear that federal agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes.
The memo advises prosecutors they "should not focus federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana."
The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.
"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
By the government's count, 14 states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
California stands out among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries — businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.
Advocates say marijuana is effective in treating chronic pain and nausea, among other ailments.
Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice.
The memo spelling out the policy was sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The memo written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law.
"This is a major step forward," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This change in policy moves the federal government dramatically toward respecting scientific and practical reality."
At the same time, officials said, the government will still prosecute those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activity.
In particular, the memo urges prosecutors to pursue marijuana cases which involve violence, the illegal use of firearms, selling pot to minors, money laundering or involvement in other crimes.
And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.
The memo, officials said, is designed to give a sense of prosecutorial priorities to U.S. attorneys in the states that allow medical marijuana. It notes that pot sales in the United States are the largest source of money for violent Mexican drug cartels, but adds that federal law enforcement agencies have limited resources.
Medical marijuana advocates have been anxious to see exactly how the administration would implement candidate Barack Obama's repeated promises to change the policy in situations in which state laws allow the use of medical marijuana.
Soon after Obama took office, DEA agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles, prompting confusion about the government's plans.
On the Net:
Justice Department memo on medical marijuana: http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192
Drug Enforcement Administration: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/
Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/ "
Anti-hippie authoritarians are threatened and PISSED by this...
AMA Calls for Review of Medical Marijuana's Legal Status-New Policy Marks Historic Shift
HOUSTON - November 10 - In a move considered historic by supporters of medical marijuana, the American Medical Association's House of Delegates today adopted a new policy position calling for the review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug in the federal Controlled Substances Act. The old language in Policy H-95.952 had previously recommended that "marijuana be retained in Schedule I," which groups marijuana with drugs such as heroin, LSD and PCP that are deemed to have no accepted medical uses and to be unsafe for use even under medical supervision.
The revised policy, adopted today, states, "Our AMA urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods." It goes on to explain that this position should not be construed as an endorsement of state medical marijuana programs.
"This shift, coming from what has historically been America's most cautious and conservative major medical organization, is historic," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, who attended the AMA meeting. "Marijuana's Schedule I status is not just scientifically untenable, given the wealth of recent data showing it to be both safe and effective for chronic pain and other conditions, but it's been a major obstacle to needed research."
Drugs listed in Schedule II, for which medical use is permitted with strict controls, include cocaine, morphine and methamphetamine. A pill containing THC, the component responsible for marijuana's "high," is classed in Schedule III, whose looser requirements allow phoned-in prescriptions.
Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/11/10-1
Where exactly would they classify Alice B. Toklas brownies? General Mills would like to know.
Men: Using medical marijuana on an airplane can get your a$$ kicked by a woman and the same a$$ thrown in jail.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/He-Messed-With-the-Wrong-Flight-Attendant--83757722.html