anjeleyes77proud pagan's blog: "MJ and Legalization #2"

From: Add me if you want to help legalize.... Date: Jan 3 2007 2:36 PM THE REAL REASON CANNABIS HAS BEEN OUTLAWED HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ITS EFFECTS ON THE MIND AND BODY. MARIJUANA is NOT DANGEROUS. Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people. The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies. Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant...as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years: * All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974. * It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981. * REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon. * George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America. * Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow's export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer. * For thousands of years, 90f all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis; Webster's New World Dictionary. * 80f all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin. * The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives. * The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40, 000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives. * Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt. * Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen. * In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture * Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58, 000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. * Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil, ' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941. * Hemp called 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938. * Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin ..404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. From Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938: 'It has a short growing season...It can be grown in any state...The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds. ...hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.' In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression. William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst's grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp. In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont's Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80f Dupont's business. THE CONSPIRACY Andrew Mellon became Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury and Dupont's primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: 'marihuana' and pushed it into the consciousness of America. MEDIA MANIPULATION A media blitz of 'yellow journalism' raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst's newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality. Films like 'Reefer Madness' (1936), 'Marihuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and 'Marihuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed. Examine the following quotes from 'The Burning Question' aka REEFER MADNESS: a violent narcotic. acts of shocking violence. incurable insanity. soul-destroying effects. under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax. more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marihuana! Reefer Madness did not end with the usual 'the end.' The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: TELL YOUR CHILDREN. In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers. On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress. Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marihuana was hemp. Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst's front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years. In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since. Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight. Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet's energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80f our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

Smoking causes cancers in parts of the body (including the kidney, cervix, and bone marrow) that have not been previously linked to to smoking in this series of reports. Smoking diminishes health generally. Adverse health effects begin before birth and continue across the life span. Smoking also causes cataracts and contributes to the development of osteoporosis, thus increasing the risk for fracture in the elderly. During 1995-1999, smoking caused approximately 440,000 premature deaths in the United States annually, leading to 13.2 years of potential life lost for male smokers, and 14.5 years lost for female smokers. Changes in cigarettes that reduce machine yields of tar and nicotine have not had any clear benefits for public health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and improving health in general. Smoking cigarettes with lower machine-measured yields of tar and nicotine provides no clear benefit to health. The list of diseases caused by smoking has been expanded to include abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, cervical cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, pneumonia, periodontitis, and stomach cancer. These are in addition to diseases previously known to be caused by smoking, including bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases, as well as reproductive effects and sudden infant death syndrome

alcohol is a drug — the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world. Alcoholism is a disease — a chronic, progressive, fatal disease if not treated. Short Term Effects Even at low doses, alcohol significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required to drive a car or operate machinery safely. Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse. Effects of moderate alcohol intake include dizziness and talkativeness. The immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred speech, disturbed sleep, nausea, and vomiting. "Hangovers" are another effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed — symptoms including headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness, and fatigue. Long Term Effects Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism). Sudden cessation of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations, and convulsions. Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol can lead to: • permanent damage to vital organs • several different types of cancer • gastrointestinal irritations, such as nausea, diarrhea, and ulcers • malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies • sexual dysfunctions • high blood pressure • lowered resistance to disease Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities. In addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics. Federal Classification Alcohol is a legal purchased product for adults. Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Addiction • Alcohol availability is closely related to violent assaults. Communities and neighborhoods that have more bars and liquor stores per capita experience more assaults. 1 • Alcohol use is frequently associated with violence between intimate partners. Two-thirds of victims of intimate partner violence reported that alcohol was involved in the incident. 2 • In one study of interpersonal violence, men had been drinking in an estimated 45 percent of cases and women had been drinking in 20 percent of cases. 3 • Women whose partners abused alcohol were 3.6 times more likely than other women to be assaulted by their partners. 4 • In 1997, 40 percent of convicted rape and sexual assault offenders said that they were drinking at the time of their crime. 5 • In 2002, more than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault in the U.S. 6 • In those violent incidents recorded by the police in which alcohol was a factor, about nine percent of the offenders and nearly 14 percent of the victims were under age 21. 7 • Twenty-eight percent of suicides by children ages nine to 15 were attributable to alcohol. 8 • An estimated 480,000 children are mistreated each year by a caretaker with alcohol problems. 9 Alcohol Statistics More than 100,000 U.S. deaths are caused by excessive alcohol consumption each year. Direct and indirect causes of death include drunk driving, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, cancer, and stroke.1 65% of youth surveyed said that they got the alcohol they drink from family and friends.7 Nearly 14 million Americans meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders.5 Youth who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than those who never drink alcohol.3 More than 18% of Americans experience alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some time in their lives.6 Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for persons aged 6–33. About 45% of these fatalities are in alcohol-related crashes.4 Underage drinking costs the United States more than $58 billion every year — enough to buy every public school student a state-of-the-art computer.2 Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people.1 Problem drinkers average four times as many days in the hospital as nondrinkers — mostly because of drinking-related injuries.1 Alcohol kills 6½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined.2 Concerning the past 30 days, 50% of high school seniors report drinking, with 32% report being drunk at least once.2 Sources 1 Substance Abuse: The Nation's Number One Health Problem, Feb. 2001 2 Mothers Against Drunk Driving 3 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse 4 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 5 Alcohol Health & Research World 6 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Analysis 7 The Century Council

These are talking points for legalization for personal use! Spread the word far and wide!You can learn more at Norml.com! TALKING POINT #1: Decriminalizing marijuana frees up police resources to deal with more serious crimes. 60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year. REFERENCE: Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United States. 1999. The Federation of American Scientists' Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin. Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for marijuana possession only. REFERENCE: NORML. 1997. Still Crazy After All These Years: Marijuana Prohibition 1937-1997: A report prepared by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) on the occasion of the Sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Washington, DC; Federal Bureau of Investigation's combined Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States (1990-2000): Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC. The state of California saved nearly $1 billion dollars from 1976 to 1985 by decriminalizing the personal possession of one ounce of marijuana, according to a study of the state justice department budget. REFERENCE: M. Aldrich and T. Mikuriya. 1988. Savings in California marijuana law enforcement costs attributable to the Moscone Act of 1976. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 20: 75-81. New Mexico's 2001 state-commissioned Drug Policy Advisory Group determined that marijuana decriminalization "will result in greater availability of resources to respond to more serious crimes without any increased risks to public safety." REFERENCE: New Mexico Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group. 2001. Report and Recommendations to the Governor's Office. State Capitol: Santa Fe. Marijuana arrests have more than doubled since 1991, while adult use of the drug has remained stable. During this same period, the number of arrests for cocaine and heroin fell by approximately 33 percent. REFERENCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000. Drugs and Crime Facts. Table: Number of Arrests by Drug Type, 1982-99. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1996. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings (1990- 1999). DHHS Printing Office: Rockville, MD. Police arrest more Americans per year on marijuana charges than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. REFERENCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2001. Uniform Crime Report: Crime in the United States, 2000. Table 29: Total estimated arrests in the United States, 2000. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC. Marijuana violations constitute the fifth most common criminal offense in the United States. REFERENCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000. Drugs and Crime Facts. Table: Estimated totals of top 7 arrest offenses, United States, 1999. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC. More than 734,000 individuals were arrested on marijuana charges in 2000. Eighty-eight percent of those arrested were charged with marijuana possession only. REFERENCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2001. Uniform Crime Report Crime in the United States, 2000. Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC. Almost 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana since 1992. That's more than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC and Wyoming combined. REFERENCE. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States (1993-2000). Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC. TALKING POINT #2: Far more harm is caused by the criminal prohibition of marijuana than by the use of marijuana itself. According to editors of the prestigious Lancet British medical journal: "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco." REFERENCE: Deglamorising Cannabis. 1995. The Lancet 346: 1241. Editorial. November 14, 1998. The Lancet. According to a 1999 federally commissioned report by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM), "Except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range tolerated for other medications." REFERENCE: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1999. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 5. The National Academy of Sciences further found, "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs." REFERENCE: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1999. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 6. More than 76 million Americans have admittedly tried marijuana. The overwhelming majority of these users did not go on to become regular marijuana users, try other illicit drugs, or suffer any deleterious effects to their health. REFERENCE: Combined data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1996. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1994. Rockville, MD and 1995. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1994; Deglamorising Cannabis. 1995. The Lancet 346: 1241. Sydney Morning Herald, February 18, 1997. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 35 percent of adults admit to having tried marijuana. Of these, only 5 percent have used marijuana in the past year, and only 3 percent have used marijuana in the past month. REFERENCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Table G.9. Percentages Reporting Lifetime, Past Year, and Past Month Use of Illicit Drugs Among Persons Aged 26 or Older: 1999. DHHS Printing Office: Rockville, MD. According to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use." REFERENCE: President Jimmy Carter: Message to Congress, August 2, 1977. Convicted marijuana offenders are denied federal financial student aid, welfare and food stamps, and may be removed from public housing. Other non-drug violations do not carry such penalties. In many states, convicted marijuana offenders are automatically stripped of their driving privileges, even if the offense is not driving related. REFERENCE: Section 483, Subsection F of the Higher Education Act of 1998; Amendment 4935 to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996; U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1992. Drugs, Crime, and the Justice System. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington DC; NORML's State Guide to Marijuana Penalties. Under federal law, possessing a single marijuana cigarette or less is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine, the same penalty as possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine or crack. REFERENCE: J. Morgan and L. Zimmer. 1997. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. The Lindesmith Center: New York, 42. In several states, marijuana offenders may receive maximum sentences of life in prison. REFERENCE: NORML's State Guide to Marijuana Penalties. A recent national study found that blacks are arrested for marijuana offenses at higher rates than whites in 90 percent of 700 U.S. counties investigated. In 64 percent of these counties, the black arrest rate for marijuana violations was more than twice the arrest rate for whites. REFERENCE: J. Gettman. 2000. United States Marijuana Arrests, Part Two: Racial Differences in Drug Arrests. The NORML Foundation: Washington, DC. TALKING POINT #3: Decriminalization does not lead to greater marijuana use. Government studies conclude that marijuana decriminalization has had virtually no effect on either marijuana use or beliefs and related attitudes about marijuana among American young people in those states that have enacted such a policy. REFERENCE: L. Johnson et al. 1981. Marijuana Decriminalization: The Impact on Youth 1975-1980. Monitoring the Future, Occasional Paper Series: Paper No. 13. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Citizens who live under decriminalization laws consume marijuana at rates less than or comparable to those who live in regions where the possession of marijuana remains a criminal offense. REFERENCE: E. Single et al. 2000. The Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization in Australia and the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy 21: 157-186. There is no evidence that marijuana decriminalization affects either the choice or frequency of use of drugs, either legal (such as alcohol) or illegal (such as marijuana and cocaine). REFERENCE: C. Thies and C. Register. 1993. Decriminalization of marijuana and demand for alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. The Social Sciences Journal 30: 385-399. States and regions that have maintained the strictest criminal penalties for marijuana possession have experienced the largest proportionate increase in use. REFERENCE: Connecticut Law Review Commission. 1997. Drug Policy in Connecticut and Strategy Options: Report to the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Assembly. State Capitol: Hartford. Rates of hard drug use (illicit drugs other than marijuana) among emergency room patients are substantially higher in states that have not decriminalized marijuana use. Experts speculate that this is because the lack of decriminalization may encourage the greater use of drugs that are even more dangerous than marijuana. REFERENCE: K. Model. 1993. The effect of marijuana decriminalization on hospital emergency room episodes: 1975-1978. Journal of the American Statistical Association 88: 737-747 as cited by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, 103. TALKING POINT #4: Criminal laws prohibiting marijuana possession do not deter marijuana use. Marijuana use remains consistent despite a high level of enforcement, and there is no detectable relationship between changes in enforcement and levels of marijuana use over time. REFERENCE: J. Morgan and L. Zimmer. 1997. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. The Lindesmith Center: New York, 46. Marijuana users believe that their behavior will go undetected; thus fear of arrest is usually not a factor in people's decisions whether or not to use it. REFERENCE: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse National Working Group on Addictions. 1998. Cannabis Control in Canada: Options Regarding Possession. Ottawa. Marijuana laws have no "specific" deterrent impact on drug taking behavior. Studies show that marijuana offenders continue to use marijuana after their conviction at rates equal to those prior to their arrest. No relation between the actual or perceived severity of their previous sentence and subsequent use has been found. REFERENCE: P. Erickson. 1980. Cannabis Criminals: The Social Effects of Punishment on Drug Users. Addiction Research Foundation: Toronto. In surveys, most individuals cite health concerns and family responsibilities rather than legal concerns as their primary reasons for ceasing (or never initiating) marijuana use. REFERENCE: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1982. Marijuana and Health. National Academy Press: Washington, DC. A California police officer's study concluded, "The reduction in penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use does not appear to [be] a factor in people's decision to use or not use the drug." REFERENCE: California State Office of Narcotics and Drug Abuse. 1977. A First Report on the Impact of California's New Marijuana Law. State Capitol: Sacramento.

From: Add me if you want to help legalize.... Date: Jan 3 2007 2:36 PM WAR ON DRUGS: NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON MARIJUANA
28 Nov 2006 North Carolina ------- Last year marked the largest number of marijuana arrests in U.S. history, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of the 786,545 citizens arrested, 88 percent were charged with possession only. "This should call us to question the amount of money we're putting into the drug war," Clark C. Anderson, Appalachian State University American Civil Liberties Union President, said. "It's still easy to find drugs. The drug war is unsuccessful." The United States has seen a gradual increase in marijuana arrests every year since the 1980s, Kris Krane, executive director of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy in Washington, D.C., said. This is likely because the United States is spending more money on police and marijuana violations are fairly easy to go after, Krane said. Krane, an American University graduate, wrote his honors thesis on the war on drugs. He found that the war is "a massive failure that creates racial inequalities." SSDP is "dedicated to seeking alternatives to failed drug policies," Krane said. The most failed is marijuana prohibition, because the substance is "not harmless, its risks are not any greater than alcohol and tobacco." In light of the increasing number of marijuana possession arrests, critics of the drug war question why so much emphasis is put on punishing marijuana offenders. "There is too much emphasis on punishment and prison," SSDP Campaigns Director Tom J. Angell said. "We see drug issues as health issues with an emphasis on education and health, not handcuffs and jail cells." According to the U.S. Federal Government, there have been no known cases of death from overdosing on marijuana. According to Rutgers University Center for Alcohol Study, 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning are reported each year and someone dies from it about once a week. Society practices drug discrimination, Lisa A. Curtin, psychology professor and substance abuse researcher said. Curtin, agreeing with Krane, said, "Most harm in the country is caused by our two legal drugs: alcohol and tobacco." Goals of Appalachian groups supporting marijuana education, such as Help End Marijuana Prohibition and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, are often misunderstood. However, according to the Lee H. McCaskey Center for Student Involvement and Leadership Assistant Director Kim L. Mitchell, HEMP is the most asked about organization on campus. At a president's breakfast, Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock asked HEMP/NORML President Josh C. Kleinstreuer, "So, is your club about drugs?" Kleinstreuer said. Many students have asked him if HEMP/NORML members "are just a bunch of hippies who sit around and smoke pot," he said. Appalachian's HEMP/NORML works for similar regulations for both alcohol and marijuana, opposes marijuana prohibition, and represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly, Kleinstreuer said. Kleinstreuer said he thinks marijuana legalization can happen with the current generation. "As homosexuals come out of the closet, pot smokers have to come out of the closet and face scrutiny," Kleinstreuer said. He said some professors told him in confidence they would support HEMP/NORML's cause, but are afraid of losing their jobs. Student interest in HEMP/NORML is growing. There are currently around 30 members. Kleinstreuer, a cannabis consumer, said it's faulty to assume that marijuana users are bad students. "I'm a dean's list student," he said. "There is a social stigma that people who use cannabis are deadbeats."

From: Add me if you want to help legalize.... Date: Jan 3 2007 2:36 PM
7 ways to make your neighborhood safer
America's crime rate has risen almost continually for the past 35 years. Very little of the great plans to reverse the trend -- whether mandatory sentences or more cops on the beat -- has helped to relieve the worst crime wave in the nation's history. And recent drops in crime rates still leave us far less safe than we were 35 years ago.
Is the situation hopeless?
No. America could be much safer -- quickly and dramatically safer.
Cutting crime
Here are seven ways to bring peace and security to your neighborhood:
End the war on drugs -- to release from prison the marijuana smokers and other non-violent drug offenders serving 15-year and 50-year sentences. They fill up the prisons -- allowing the murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals to go free on early release or plea-bargains, free to terrorize your neighborhood.
End the war on drugs -- to free up law-enforcement resources to fight violent crime instead of chasing people who may harm themselves but are no threat to us.
End the war on drugs -- to end gang warfare. The drug war has taken the drug business away from pharmaceutical companies and turned it over to gangs operating in a huge black market -- providing untold riches for anyone who will flout the law. This money finances criminal gangs who would be powerless without drug money. Legal drug, tobacco or alcohol companies don't conduct gang warfare and drive-by shootings but criminal gangs will do anything to secure a rich monopoly territory.
End the war on drugs -- to reduce police corruption. With so much black-market money and confiscated drugs floating around, it's too easy for weak policemen to become rich by breaking the law themselves.
End the war on drugs -- to make our schools safer. Brewers and distillers don't recruit children to run drugs or hook other kids on liquor -- nor do they give them guns to take to school. Neither would legal drug companies. Before the war on drugs, the worst schools in Los Angeles were safer than L.A.'s best schools are today.
End the war on drugs -- to end muggings and burglaries by addicts. If Prohibition were ended, illegal drugs selling today for $100 might cost as little as $2, because legal competition -- with no need to circumvent the law -- would drive drug prices down. So addicts would no longer need to steal to support their habits.
End the war on drugs -- to bring back respect for decent behavior. Because nothing can win the Drug War, it is constantly escalated -- destroying more of your liberties with asset forfeiture laws, drug-testing, snooping in your bank account, monitoring your e-mail, racial profiling, and other invasions of the liberty of all Americans. This has caused too many people to disrespect the law itself -- feeling that any kind of law-breaking, victimless or violent, is justified.
Benefits of re-legalizing drugs
If you want your city, your country, and your children to be safe, we must end the insane war on drugs before it destroys us.
Understandably, many Americans fear that ending the drug war would produce hundreds of thousands of addicts, crack babies, children trying drugs, and other evils. But that's what we have now.
Re-legalizing drugs would eliminate the criminal black market -- ending the violence, the incentive to hook children and the selling of bad drugs that destroy people. And addicts could seek medical help openly and inexpensively -- instead of hiding their habits from the law.
Why this war?
Despite the tyrannical methods the government uses to fight the drug war, drug use continues unabated. So why do politicians fight so desperately to continue this insane war on drugs?
Could it be because the war allows them to continually expand their power over our property, our bank accounts and our private lives?
And why won't the national media and the "investigative" reporters challenge the prevailing wisdom? Why didn't Jim Lehrer make Al Gore or George Bush explain their support for continuing this relentless and futile war?
Wouldn't it have been nice to have one person on the debate stage to ask Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush the obvious question: "Would you be a better person today if, for your youthful drug use, you had spent 10 years in prison?"
Republicans and Democratic politicians see nothing hypocritical in prosecuting others for actions they've taken themselves. They've operated for so long on a double standard that it never occurs to them that they comprise anything less than an elite aristocracy.

From: Stoner Stuff

Supporters Ponder Medical Marijuana for 2008

Posted by CN Staff on January 02, 2007 at 09:50:17 PT
By Drew Storey
Source: Michigan Live

Michigan -- For a majority of residents in the State of Michigan, legalizing the private use of marijuana is still something they are not willing to accept.

Using the plant for medicinal purposes, however, has precedent set by 11 states in the union ranging from California's open-ended law that provides use for, "any illness for which marijuana provides relief," to Vermont's law only allowing those suffering from HIV or AIDS, cancer or Multiple Sclerosis to use.

According to Tim Beck, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), polls indicate that residents are becoming more supportive of medicinal use of marijuana every year.

"The demographic is changing. As baby boomers reach their prime voting age, percentages in favor of more relaxed laws concerning marijuana grow about two percent a year," said Beck.

Flat out legalizing the use of marijuana, however, is still not in favor of the majority according to Beck. While several of the people involved in the attempt to get legalized personal use on the ballot in 2000 and 2002 now are part of NORML, the organization does not support the attempt to get the matter on the ballot for 2008.

Legislation to authorize those with debilitating conditions to be prescribed marijuana, HB 5470, made it to a House committee where it died a month ago.

Beck said that NORML is now seriously considering an effort to get the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, a proposal that would look very similar to the late HB 5470, on the 2008 ballot.

According to Beck, the wording in the ballot proposal would run the middle of the road compared to California and Vermont laws.

Though legalization for personal use is a goal of NORML, Beck said it is a priority to make it available to those who need it first.

"We need to protect the weakest and most vulnerable first. Those people using marijuana to decrease pain or to increase appetite do not belong in jail," Beck said.

Raphael Lematrie, spokesperson for the Office of National Drug Control policy said the push for medical marijuana is far from an effort to help the sick.

"Marijuana is not modern medicine. No doctor is going to prescribe smoking a crude weed. It has not proven to be safe," said Lematrie.

Marinol, produced by Solvay Pharmaceuticals, is a pill consisting of a synthetic THC: the relieving chemical found in marijuana. According to Lematrie, the pill is safe and prescribed for nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss.

"Legalizing this drug for medicinal use is just a sideshow," Lematrie said. "These so called grassroots movements' are well-funded organizations backed by a lot of money."

Lematrie said that there is a reason efforts to legalize marijuana in Nevada, Colorado and to allow medicinal use in South Carolina all failed in a vote last November.

"No city is going to benefit from increasing drug use," Lematrie said.

Out of 11 states to legally allow marijuana to be used in a medicinal way, eight were a result of a favorable ballot vote. Only three were accomplished through the legislature.

Source: Michigan Live (MI)
Author: Drew Storey
Published: January 2, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Advance Newspapers
Website: http://www.mlive.com/
Contact:  letterstotheeditor@advancenewspapers.com