Grow Weed Blog
US CA: Column: Three Former Presidents And The Law
THREE FORMER PRESIDENTS AND THE LAWIt seems pretty obvious that the last three presidents - Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama - once smoked marijuana. OK, Clinton claimed he didn't inhale. Bush refused to say whether he ever used drugs, instead he coyly alluded to mistakes in his youth. Obama didn't play games in his memoir, "Dreams from my Father," he wrote about using marijuana and cocaine as a kid. The big question: If all three men nonetheless managed to become president, why can't Washington decriminalize marijuana? Or better yet, legalize, regulate and tax it. At what the White House billed last week as an "experimental" town hall meeting with questions submitted online, the most popular questions were about marijuana. President Obama chose not to answer any such question directly. Instead, the president volunteered that "there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation." Then he quipped to laughter, "And I don't know what this says about the online audience." His answer to his question: "No, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy." Fair enough, legalizing marijuana isn't a strategy to improve the economy. But there are reasons to legalize marijuana, such as the 872,720 marijuana arrests made in America in 2007 - more than 775,000 were for possession, not sale or manufacture. Those individuals who are convicted may have criminal records and may have trouble obtaining financial aid for college - even if some day they could grow up to be president. And what can America show for its drug laws? The World Health Organization found that 42.4 percent of Americans had tried marijuana - - the highest ratio of any of 17 countries surveyed. WHO researchers concluded that drug use "does not appear to be related to drug policy, as countries with more stringent policies ( e.g., the United States ) did not have lower levels of illegal drug use than countries with more liberal policies ( e.g. the Netherlands )." In short, drug laws don't work, but they cost the federal government alone some $3.7 billion annually, according to Harvard economist Jeffrey A. Miron. Ess Eff's Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project observed that "I can't say that I'm completely surprised by the way Obama dealt with it, but I wonder if he was smart to insult the online audience that played a very large role in electing him." Insult? I don't think Obama meant to insult anyone. I think that was a well-executed political straddle - Obama winked at the pro-legalization crowd, even as he ran from the policy it so craves. Mirken told me, "I can't help but feel that ( Obama ) really knows better, but just doesn't think he can go there politically now." That's the sign of a successful straddle: When the people whom you officially oppose believe you secretly sympathize with them. In February, pollster Scott Rasmussen reported that 40 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, 46 percent oppose, while 14 percent are not sure. Voters under 40 are more supportive of legalizing marijuana than older folk. With such findings, you might expect that 4 in 10 Washington politicians support legalizing marijuana. But only a minority of politicians dares support something as modest as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment to stop federal raids on medical marijuana clinics. In 2007, the House defeated the measure by a 262-165 vote in its fifth incarnation. In 2008, however, Hinchey-Rohrabacher never even made it to a House vote. Too toxic for a presidential election year. Mirken and I agree on this: Any change in America's marijuana laws will percolate from the bottom up. Said Mirken: "This is one of those issues that when it changes, it's going to be all of a sudden, like the fall of the Soviet empire. I think we're getting close to that point, and I think that politicians will be the last to see it coming." Or maybe the change will never come. Maybe Americans want politicians who back expensive, ineffective marijuana laws - even if the politicians ignored those laws when they were young. Maybe some voters are willing to support laws that they believe will turn someone else's kids into criminals if it means that their kids will be less likely to stray - even if tough laws don't really dampen drug usage. Maybe anyone can grow up to be president - whether he inhaled or not - just as long as he campaigns on the promise to just say no.
Stormy Ray can be found at: http://www.stormyray.org/ What a cool grandma, eh? And she looks easy on the eyes, too! Pot smoking girls!! we love you!! Fortunately amotivational syndrome doesn't seem to make them stupid at all. Govie pukes? how could you be soo wrong for sooo long? She is Smart! and gets things done! feds? when will you get a clue??? das bush!
DEA Ignores Policy, Raids San Francisco Dispensary Raids Defy U.S. President and Attorney General, and need your response!
Dear ASA Supporter, We never expected that the DEA would defy the public statements of both the U.S. President and the Attorney General in such an arrogant and brazen way. And yet yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided a legal, permitted San Francisco medical cannabis dispensing collective against the will of the President and the Department of Justice... and we need you to respond RIGHT NOW! In early February national media attention exploded around statements from a White House spokesperson and from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, telling the press that DEA raids would no longer continue, and that an end to such raids, according to Holder, was “now U.S. policy.†And DEA's response? They thumbed their noses at the President and immediately raided a legal dispensing collective and, according to the San Francisco Police, did not even inform local cops! DEA claimed that the permit-holding dispensary was "violating state law," but went on to say that evidence was "under seal" and could not be shared with the public. The DEA is out of line and out of control, and this raid is nothing if not vindictive. Even if there was a violation of state law: 1. Why where there no arrests? 2. Why were local cops not involved? 3. Why are United States Federal Agents interpreting and enforcing California state law without consulting California officials? 4. Why was the collective not given due process through the proper authorities, but rather ransacked with a "smash and grab" raid? DEA has twisted the words of the U.S. Attorney General, and thought that by saying publicly "they violated state law" that they could continue raiding whenever they want. Well that doesn’t fly. We DEMAND that the DEA stop immediately, and that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder reprimand DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart for her blatant insubordination and violation of the “new American policy.†Now it's up to you, and all it takes is two phone calls, one to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and the other straight to the DEA. Please call the U.S. Attorney General at  (2... and say:
- Hi, my name is _____________. First I want to thank you for your numerous public statements verifying the end of DEA raids on legal medical marijuana dispensaries in California. But on Wednesday the DEA went against your word and the word of the President of the United States by raiding a permitted dispensary in San Francisco. We respectfully demand that you issue a statement condemning and officially ending these raids until the Obama Administration has had a chance to review the new policy.
- Hi, my name is ___________. The U.S. Attorney General and the President of the United States have both made high-profile public statements, saying DEA raids on legal medical marijuana dispensaries is no longer U.S. policy. Yet your DEA raided a legal, permit-holding San Francisco dispensary yesterday, in conflict with these statements. This disgraceful and anti-democratic. Why is your agency not listening to the policy statements of our elected leaders and your boss? Is this how you'll run DEA if you are appointed in the Obama Administration? We demand that you STOP it immediately!
Federal Judge Stalls Sentencing
Federal Judge Stalls Sentencing
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is no fan
of drug-policy reform.
CNN's Sanjay Gupta hasn't yet been officially named as Barack Obama's pick for Surgeon General, but the TV talking head and Emory University neurosurgeon has been approached about the job and reportedly is more than a little interested in becoming the nation's chief scold. In that role, he would almost certainly continue the government's tradition of nagging the public about its choice of intoxicants.You can expect a Surgeon General Gupta to take a relatively hard line on marijuana, for one thing. In Time magazine in 2006, Gupta wrote "Why I would vote no on pot":
Maybe it's because I was born a couple of months after Woodstock and wasn't around when marijuana was as common as iPods are today, but I'm constantly amazed that after all these years--and all the wars on drugs and all the public-service announcements--nearly 15 million Americans still use marijuana at least once a month. ... The Nevada and Colorado marijuana initiatives have gained support from unlikely places. More than 33 religious leaders in Nevada have endorsed the measure, arguing that permissive legalization, accompanied by stringent regulations and penalties, can cut down on illegal drug trafficking and make communities safer. Perhaps. But I'm here to tell you, as a doctor, that despite all the talk about the medical benefits of marijuana, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good. And if you get high before climbing behind the wheel of a car, you will be putting yourself and those around you in danger.Gupta's take is certainly less strident than that of some advocates of Prohibition. He's willing to actually discuss the issue, rather than treat the war on drugs as some sort of religious crusade. Ultimately, though, he wants to keep in place laws that threaten people with legal penalties for ingesting substances of which he disapproves. It's hard to predict whether Dr. Sanjay Gupta would make a good Surgeon General -- it depends on how convincing he is about wagging his finger, which is the job's main responsibility. But Gupta would certainly not represent any new direction for the Obama administration in terms of drug policy. And by the way ... With television personalities headed to powerful offices in D.C., can we expect Judge Judy to be named to the Supreme Court? Update: Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project rightly admonishes me for passing over the fact that Gupta allows that marijuana may well have some medical use. In the Time piece, Gupta writes:
True, there are health benefits for some patients. Several recent studies, including a new one from the Scripps Research Institute, show that THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for the high, can help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (In fact, it seems to block the formation of disease-causing plaques better than several mainstream drugs.) Other studies have shown THC to be a very effective antinausea treatment for people--cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example--for whom conventional medications aren't working. And medical cannabis has shown promise relieving pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.That marijuana is helpful for Alzheimer's, cancer and glaucoma patients doesn't seem like a major concession at this late date for most of us -- but for a serious contender for a government office, it's almost revolutionary. The federal government has been so hostile to any effort to consider the use of marijuana as medicine that its acceptance in that role by a potential presidential appointee is remarkable. Gupta deserves a nod on that count. That said, I still want to serious consideration of real drug policy reform that would spare people prison time for mere possession and use. Yeah, doc... how about you get off the idea that jailing me away from my family is such a keen idea, hunh? People who think jailing others over pot are assholes. period. whether you are an uninformed asshole or a bigoted son of a bitch of an asshole doesn't really matter too much... find out the truth and quit hurting other people over your idea of morality being better than mine. We aren't talking about crime, we are talking about cannabis for consenting adults. More possible jerks about pot from Obama and we told him loud and clear in his change.gov querry of the public that we want pot legalized. No mumbles about it, Obama. Legalize Marijuana Now.
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