"Let us declare nature to be legitimate. All plants should be declared legal, and all animals for that matter. The notion of illegal plants and animals is obnoxious and ridiculous."--- Terence McKenna
What a concept!
Let's add some words from 'ol honest Abe,
"Prohibition goes beyond reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite through legislation. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles this country was founded upon." --- Abraham Lincoln
Although he was not speaking specifically about marijuana (all drugs were legal during his lifetime and cannabis has only been illegal in the United States since 1938), his point hits dead on.
The casualties and costs of America's embarrassing war on drugs continue to mount and the "war" is in a quagmire. The desire to use psychoactive drugs continues to appear very strong, and tens of millions of Americans use 'illicit' forms of these drugs. If you include all psychoactive drugs---alcohol, caffiene, tobacco, performance-enhancing substances and others---the vast majority of Americans use drugs. It's amazing that we live in a society of capitalism, yet deny the logistics of supply and demand when it comes to national drug policy. It is plain and simple, if alcohol is legal then cannabis should be legal.
There is no harm associated with the casual use of marijuana, other than the very real threat of persecution by a legal system that the majority of society disagrees with. You ask why doesn't society then change the system? That is what GMO and his friends are trying to do.
Medical marijuana is not legal under U.S. federal law.
The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) classifies the plant a schedule 1 substance, like heroin, with no medical benefits. That classification contradicts mounds of evidence showing marijuana to be a very safe and effective medicine.
Marijuana is more effective, much less expensive, and much safer than many drugs currently used in its place.
Marijuana can provide excellent relief for those who suffer from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
chronic pain, arthritis, rheumatism, asthma, insomnia, and depression. If knowledge of marijuana's many
medicinal uses, its remarkable safety, and hemp's enormous potential as a natural resource become widely
known, the DEA fears that support for Marijuana Prohibition will collapse, and thus threaten the DEA's budget.
To maintain the myth that marijuana/hemp is useless and dangerous, the DEA prohibits medicinal use of
marijuana, denies researchers access to marijuana for use in clinical studies, and rejects all applications to
grow industrial hemp.
Despite these DEA propaganda efforts, "Some polls have shown that close to 40 percent of Americans would favor legalizing marijuana. And in several Western states, including California, voters recently have come out in favor of distributing marijuana for medical reasons."
("N.M. governor's aim: debate on drug war", San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 18, 1999)
In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972.
In 1988--after reviewing all evidence brought forth in a lawsuit against the government's prohibition of medical marijuana--the DEA's own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote: "The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the Drug Enforcement Administration to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence." Judge Francis Young of the Drug Enforcement Administration went on to say: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. In strict medical terms, marijuana is safer than many foods we commonly consume." (Opinion and Recommended Ruling, etc., DEA Docket No. 86-22, Sept. 6, 1988, pages 58-59) Judge Young recommended that the DEA allow marijuana to be prescribed as medicine, but the DEA has refused. During this same period of time, the National Center for Toxicological Research issued its findings on marijuana, confirming the administrative law judge's findings.
In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research, editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.
Marijuana does not cause serious health problems like those caused by tobacco or alcohol (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.).
Death from a marijuana overdose is impossible.
In all of world history, there has never been a single human death attributed to a health problem caused by marijuana.
Current Drug Enforcement Administration chief, Thomas Constantine, now says "we are both unwilling and unable to fight the war on drugs" ("DEA chief: Drug fight lacks desire", USA Today, Feb. 19, 1999).
For the first time since President Jimmy Carter held office in the 1970's, the president of the United States has endorsed the decriminalization of marijuana! Sure it's a little too late. Ex-President Bill Clinton, who acknowledges smoking marijuana but denies having inhaled, sat silently while record numbers of Americans were being arrested on marijuana offenses. 704,000 marijuana arrests last year, and more than 4 million since he took office.
The fact is, the president of the United States agrees that the responsible use of marijuana should not be a crime.
Prohibition is the number one cause of America's exploding prison population.
Many non-violent drug offenders are now serving longer prison sentences than murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals.
"Why de we have a system that enforces a (sentence of) 90 days in jail for someone who gets caught smoking a joint-and what do we give a guy who beats his wife? One day? Two days? Maybe a week," said Barbara Davis, who heads the Santa Clara County, CA probation department's domestic violence unit. "I think we have alot of institutional things to change."
("Batterning arrests sore, but justice often is elusive", San Jose Mercury News, Sept.26,1999)
It costs taxpayers $30,000 per year to imprison just one non-violent drug offender. Politicians are spending billions of tax dollars to build new prisons and jails so more and more non-violent drug offenders can be warehoused. Although this does create jobs in the criminal justice industry ;-),
a better use is for funding for education and other services that are being strained.
Marijuana arrests in the United States doubled between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half-million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. This rate is rising.
According to the new FBI Uniform Crime Report, police arrested more people for non-violent marijuana offenses in 1998 than for murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault -- combined. In all, 704,885 Americans were arrested last year on marijuana-related charges. Of those arrested for marijuana offenses, 88% were charged with mere possession.
The fact is, every marijuana arrest means there is less police
time, less law enforcement money, less court time, and fewer jail cells
available to arrest, convict, and imprison violent criminals.
Does that make any sense?
According to another new study from the Marijuana Policy
Project, there are 59,300 people in U.S. prisons and jails for
marijuana offenses at any given time, and there were nearly 4.1
million marijuana arrests by the time Ex-President Bill Clinton took office.
The next time you hear about a vicious murder on the news, ask
yourself: Could the police have prevented this crime if they hadn't
devoted uncounted millions of dollars and man-hours to arresting those
3.5 million people on marijuana charges over the past six years?
How many people are dead, or raped, or had their possessions
stolen, or were savagely beaten because a local cop was booking a
marijuana suspect instead of protecting innocent Americans from evil
criminals? That's the real, human cost of these new FBI figures -- and
the sad price we pay for the government's War on Marijuana.
Tens of thousands of people are now in prison for marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver's licenses revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used.
The government can't even keep drugs out of its own prisons, yet most politicians keep telling us they can rid the entire nation of marijuana by spending more tax dollars. The government now spends $15 billion every year (a 1,500% increase since 1980) waging a war on marijuana smokers--a war that has lasted 60 years and is impossible to win. Another $5 billion per year is lost in tax revenue that could be generated if marijuana was regulated and taxed like wine.
New Mexico Governor Gary E. Johnson recently became the highest-ranking elected official to call for legalization of marijuana.
America's drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, flew to Albuquerque in a tizzy, referring to the governor as ``goofy'' and ``Puff Daddy Johnson,'' a reference to the popular rap artist.
``I just wanted to get a discussion going on the biggest head-in-the-sand issue in this country today,'' the governor said Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. ``It's like a stick of butter, and we've moved it from the freezer to the fridge.''
Johnson said more damage than good is done by locking up 700,000 people on marijuana-related crimes, which he said the nation did in 1997.
McCaffrey fired back with fresh reports from the front lines, pointing out that drug use in the United States actually has dropped 50 percent since 1979.
To which the self-described ``reality-driven'' bottom-line Republican replies: ``So if we've reduced use by 50 percent, shouldn't we be spending 50 percent less on the
war?''
McCaffrey had no answer.
The presence of a sitting Republican governor willing to confront the establishment and to challenge their thinking on marijuana is extraordinarily important. Governor Johnson is forcing the drug warriors to defend their position, and they can't do it.
Former San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, agreed with Governor Johnson.
``This drug war is stupid. We probably ruined a lot of lives with those arrests, and very few of those people who smoke marijuana commit other crimes.''
("N.M. governor's aim: debate on drug war", San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 18, 1999)
For all practical purposes, Marijuana Prohibition is a $15-billion-per-year government subsidy for drug traffickers, organized crime, and street dealers. Because the government prohibits well-regulated liquor stores from selling marijuana, the government ensures that organized crime and street dealers will flourish. Prohibition escalates violence and corruption as mobsters, street gangs, and thugs fight for control of the marijuana trade. Just as Alcohol Prohibition escalated violence and corruption during the 1920s, Marijuana Prohibition does the same today.
Forget for a minute the colossal costs of the war against casual marijuana partakers and the huge benefits of medical marijuana and think solely about the enormous potential cannabis has to become a major natural resource that can benefit both the economy and the environment.
First some history;
Up until the earlier half of this century, 80% of all mankind's textiles and fabrics were made principally from cannabis fibers.
Cannabis Hemp is capable of producing significant quantities of paper (it takes 4 acres of trees to produce as much paper as 1 acre of Hemp), textiles, building materials, food (the nutty tasting seeds are as nutritious as soy beans), medicine, paint, detergent, varnish, oil, ink, and fuel.
Cannabis has been used for ships sails that wouldn't rot in sea spray, rigging, anchor
ropes and nets,
clothes, tents, linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, towels,
and national flags included, even the U.S. Constitution and the Holy Bible were written and reproduced on cannabis hemp paper.
Unlike other crops, hemp can grow in most climates and on most farmland throughout the world with moderate water and fertilizer requirements, no pesticides, and no herbicides.
If you count the many uses of the Hemp plant and the proven benefits of medical use of marijauna you will come to the conclusion that the herb is a true natural gift from mother nature.
WAKE UP AMERICA!
Moderate marijuana use does not cause any permanent damage of any kind. I don't mean to suggest there aren't many folks out there who seem (and are) burned
out on pot. There are a lot of maladjusted people smoking pot.
Like any substance, marijuana can be abused. The most common problem attributed to marijuana is frequent overuse, which can induce lethargic behavior, but does not cause serious health problems. Marijuana may cause short-term memory loss....GMO don't remember.... but only while under the influence. Marijuana does not impair long-term memory. Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Unlike alcohol, marijuana does not kill brain cells or induce violent behavior. Continuous long-term smoking of marijuana can cause bronchitis, but the chance of contracting bronchitis from casual marijuana smoking is minuscule. Respiratory health hazards can be totally eliminated by consuming marijuana via non-smoking methods .
Treat drug abuse like the sickness it is, don't glamorize it as an alluring illegal activity. Kids want to do what they're told not to do, what kid wants to be sick? Drug addiction is a sickness and should be treated as such.
Reducing drug abuse is a desirable goal, but law enforcement methods used to obtain that goal are counterproductive. Prohibition costs billions to enforce, creates a black market that generates violence and corruption, and makes criminals out of millions of productive and harmless adults.
Adult use of alcohol and tobacco is accepted, but adult use of marijuana is considered criminal behavior.
Smoking a 'J' every now and then should not be a crime any more than drinking a cold brewski should be a reason to throw someone in the slammer.
We all need to take responsibility for our own actions. If a toker ever thinks marijuana is having some harmful effect, they should stop smoking for awhile. If it's having a bad effect on a friend, try to talk with them about it. And if you're having money problems, or family problems, and think it might help if you stopped smoking......stop smoking.
This is much more than fighting for the right to get stoned though.
It's about reversing a policy that has failed even more miserably than alcohol Prohibition, although the two policies are essentially the same.
Current drug laws attempt to solve the social problem of drug abuse by outlawing plant products, instead of concentrating the massive funding on education, regulation, and treatment on demand of those with drug problems. By creating a lucrative black market in popular but illegal products, prohibition leads to increased crime and corruption in government and law enforcement.
Current drug laws lead to exploding prison populations, gang warfare, and in the case of today's "War On certain Drugs", to highly questionable police tactics like racial profiling.
All of these issues are the product of banning the exchange and use of a popular substance among consenting adults.
GMO is all for the right to get stoned, but more importantly, we need to stop spending billions to lock up productive citizens for their personal habits.
It is time to put to rest the myth that smoking marijuana is a fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by those on the margins of American society. In reality, marijuana smoking is extremely common and marijuana is the recreational drug of choice for millions of mainstream, middle class Americans. Government surveys indicate more than 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some point in their lives, and that 18-20 million have smoked during the last year. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug of choice for Americans, exceeded only by alcohol and tobacco in popularity.
A national survey of voters conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that 32% -- one third of the voting adults in the country -- acknowledged having smoked marijuana at some point in their lives. Many successful business and professional leaders, including many state and federal elected officials from both political parties, admit they used marijuana. It is time to reflect that reality in our state and federal legislation, and stop acting as if marijuana smokers are part of the crime problem. They are not, and it is absurd to continue spending limited law enforcement resources arresting them.
Like most Americans, the vast majority of these millions of marijuana smokers are otherwise law-abiding citizens who work hard, raise families and contribute to their communities; they are indistinguishable from their non-smoking peers, except for their use of marijuana. They are not part of the crime problem and should not be treated like criminals. Arresting and jailing responsible marijuana smokers is a misapplication of the criminal sanction which undermines respect for the law in general. Congress needs to acknowledge this constituency exists, and stop legislating as if marijuana smokers were dangerous people who need to be locked up. Marijuana smokers are simply average Americans.
Perhaps if the 20 to 70 million Americans who smoke marijuana are all put in prison, we'll be able to see that things aren't any better and that marijuana wasn't the problem after all.....