Wall Street Journal Features Classic NES Bong
This is perhaps the greatest sign of hope so far: traditional uptight media portraying paraphernalia in a light-hearted context. Here is the actual headline, using the word "bong" without the words WAR, or law enforcement in the same phrase.
- WSJ: The iPhone From 1983, a Nintendo Bong and a Really Big TV
Slacker Uprising! NoodleGate!
Subject: URGENT: Registration Deadline for SLACKERS
The registration deadline in many states is TOMORROW, MONDAY, OCTOBER 6. You don't have any time to waste. In order to vote in this year's election, you need to get registered now.
If you're already registered, take the time to remind your friends in key states. Every single vote is going to matter in this fall's Slacker Uprising!
http://apps.new.facebook.com/obama/recruit
America's War on Youth
Wow, how EVIL is this story, linked below? Watch for yourself and see.
http://abcnews.go.com/vide
Please view that 8 minute 20/20 investigation, above, if you can find the time. Thank you.
We can understand keeping fully automatic firearms and CHEMICAL drugs illegal, but ORGANIC substances just strike me as an issue for PARENTS, CHURCHES, AND VALUES to regulate, *not* government thugs. Such a vast majority of young people at the very least TRY pot, and it's a brutal lottery to find which ones end up with their lives ruined while other go on to be Republican Presidents and Republican Governor's of California. Statistically, we are nearly ALL "guilty" of experimenting or casually using a naturally occurring plant at some point in our lives, yet it's a notoriously Republican issue to continue this absurd War on Youth, masquerading as an utterly futile War on Drugs.
Isn't it time to end this absurd war that harms our own children and grandchildren far more than it hurts the international cartels? We should be chasing the Dangerous International Cartels and Terrorists, not our own children -- who are the punitive targets of BOTH the cartels and US!
How many times have we heard frustrated policemen on the street express this same sentiment? They are the ones charged with enforcing the laws, they have no choice but to do so, yet they increasingly agree that this is the worst of all aspects of their jobs. I'd like to hear if your own police friends have yet come around on this point, as well. Most mature cops that I know all believe that possession for personal use should be at least decriminalized and even legalized, as is currently proposed by Congress.
Yes, there is finally CURRENT pending national legislation to eliminate the ongoing War on Youth while preserving the intent of cracking down on huge international traffickers of weapons and CHEMICAL drugs. It is House Bill
Please take a look at this legislation H.R. 5843 and full text at the Library of Congress http://tinyurl.com/hr5843
Then please consider supporting H.R. 5843 by contacting your local representatives here http://tinyurl.com/vote5843
Finally, feel free to forward this, particularly to people who might initially DISAGREE. It's those who don't directly see or feel the monumental damage caused (and almost ZERO benefit gained) by continuing Marijuana Prohibition with whom we most need to expand the dialog.
Neither McCain NOR Obama have any interest in making this vital CHANGE to make our society SAFER and more CIVIL by focusing on the Dangerous International Cartels and Terrorists instead of our own children. Both parties are supported by the same corporate interests, so this CHANGE is up to us and us alone.
http://abcnews.go.com/vide
Please view that 8 minute 20/20 investigation, above, if you can find the time. Thank you.
We can understand keeping fully automatic firearms and CHEMICAL drugs illegal, but ORGANIC substances just strike me as an issue for PARENTS, CHURCHES, AND VALUES to regulate, *not* government thugs. Such a vast majority of young people at the very least TRY pot, and it's a brutal lottery to find which ones end up with their lives ruined while other go on to be Republican Presidents and Republican Governor's of California. Statistically, we are nearly ALL "guilty" of experimenting or casually using a naturally occurring plant at some point in our lives, yet it's a notoriously Republican issue to continue this absurd War on Youth, masquerading as an utterly futile War on Drugs.
Isn't it time to end this absurd war that harms our own children and grandchildren far more than it hurts the international cartels? We should be chasing the Dangerous International Cartels and Terrorists, not our own children -- who are the punitive targets of BOTH the cartels and US!
How many times have we heard frustrated policemen on the street express this same sentiment? They are the ones charged with enforcing the laws, they have no choice but to do so, yet they increasingly agree that this is the worst of all aspects of their jobs. I'd like to hear if your own police friends have yet come around on this point, as well. Most mature cops that I know all believe that possession for personal use should be at least decriminalized and even legalized, as is currently proposed by Congress.
Yes, there is finally CURRENT pending national legislation to eliminate the ongoing War on Youth while preserving the intent of cracking down on huge international traffickers of weapons and CHEMICAL drugs. It is House Bill
Please take a look at this legislation H.R. 5843 and full text at the Library of Congress http://tinyurl.com/hr5843
Then please consider supporting H.R. 5843 by contacting your local representatives here http://tinyurl.com/vote5843
Finally, feel free to forward this, particularly to people who might initially DISAGREE. It's those who don't directly see or feel the monumental damage caused (and almost ZERO benefit gained) by continuing Marijuana Prohibition with whom we most need to expand the dialog.
Neither McCain NOR Obama have any interest in making this vital CHANGE to make our society SAFER and more CIVIL by focusing on the Dangerous International Cartels and Terrorists instead of our own children. Both parties are supported by the same corporate interests, so this CHANGE is up to us and us alone.
Medical-pot limit needs to be larger, Health Department forum says
How much is enough?
• The state of Washington considered allowing a patient to keep 35 ounces of marijuana and 100 square feet of growing space for plants.
• Gov. Chris Gregoire supports a new plan that would allow 24 ounces, up to six mature plants and up to 18 immature plants.
• Medical marijuana supporters are suggesting a limit of 71 ounces and 99 plants.
• The state of Washington considered allowing a patient to keep 35 ounces of marijuana and 100 square feet of growing space for plants.
• Gov. Chris Gregoire supports a new plan that would allow 24 ounces, up to six mature plants and up to 18 immature plants.
• Medical marijuana supporters are suggesting a limit of 71 ounces and 99 plants.
Twitter Whore for Hemp
Okay, not really for hemp ... and yeah, it's completely off topic, but if it lightens the mood long enough to open the opportunity to move forward, I'm all for it. Besides, it's just absurdly hilarious. At least I thought so. Feel free to flame away in the the comments if you strongly disagree.
Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition: An Economic Analysis
Costs of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis: "Milton Friedman, 500 Economists Call for Marijuana Regulation Debate; New Report Projects $10-14 Billion Annual Savings and Revenues Savings/Revenues Projected in New Study by Harvard Economist Could Pay For:
** Implementing Required Port Security Plans in Just One Year
** Securing Soviet-Era 'Loose Nukes' in Under Three Years
Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year, finds a June 2005 report by Dr. Jeffrey Miron, visiting professor of economics at Harvard University."
** Implementing Required Port Security Plans in Just One Year
** Securing Soviet-Era 'Loose Nukes' in Under Three Years
Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year, finds a June 2005 report by Dr. Jeffrey Miron, visiting professor of economics at Harvard University."
Gunman Kills Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman - NYTimes.com
Still think it's just a game out there. Just a petty endless war of mere words?
The terrorists are not just hunkered in caves in Afghanistan; they are brazenly terrorizing the streets of Arkansas, USA.
No, it's been ON for quite some time, friends. So may I ask once again plead that we please ALL REGISTER TO VOTE RIGHT NOW if we haven't already done so and please make sure that everyone you know mobilizes to do the same.
We simply cannot afford to let them have even ONE SINGLE EXCUSE to keep the current cronies in power, which is exactly how they will count my missing vote.
The terrorists are not just hunkered in caves in Afghanistan; they are brazenly terrorizing the streets of Arkansas, USA.
No, it's been ON for quite some time, friends. So may I ask once again plead that we please ALL REGISTER TO VOTE RIGHT NOW if we haven't already done so and please make sure that everyone you know mobilizes to do the same.
We simply cannot afford to let them have even ONE SINGLE EXCUSE to keep the current cronies in power, which is exactly how they will count my missing vote.
Which Presidential Candidate is for Decriminalization?
As far as I know, Talk of the Nation, August 13 program is the only place airing this information. The candidate is Ralph Nader. Now, before you just double over in laughter, it's vitally important that we UNDERSTAND THIS ISSUE as Nader so clearly articulates it.
We have to be careful about falling into the media's depiction of our competitive election system. Just because "for all practical matters" third parties can't win does not mean that third parties can't CONTRIBUTE and INFLUENCE elections is vitally important and substantive ways.
The streaming audio will be available here after 6pm ET today. Please consider listening to the first fifteen minutes, where Citizen Candidate Nader cuts right to the chase concerning this vital election year issue.
We have to be careful about falling into the media's depiction of our competitive election system. Just because "for all practical matters" third parties can't win does not mean that third parties can't CONTRIBUTE and INFLUENCE elections is vitally important and substantive ways.
The streaming audio will be available here after 6pm ET today. Please consider listening to the first fifteen minutes, where Citizen Candidate Nader cuts right to the chase concerning this vital election year issue.
Mayor wants federal probe after SWAT raids house, kills dogs
How are people STILL not flooding the streets over this issue?
“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop! And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!” -- Mario Savio
- Raid carried out after marijuana package mailed to home of Mayor Cheye Calvo
- Deputies said they shot Calvo's dogs because they felt threatened by them
- Calvo says he and his mother-in-law were handcuffed next to dog's carcass
- Sheriff's Department expresses sympathy, doesn't apologize
Utterly revolting. What can we do about it?
- Get familiar with HR 5843 (House Summary | Wikipedia).
- Write to your local representative DEMANDING support for HR 5843.
- Why not write right now?
- We CAN be the change we seek in the world, but WILL we have the courage of conviction to DO SO?
Perseverance? THIS is perseverance.
But don't pay attention to a guy like this in the Presidential debates. No, he's dorky looking. No, he's a nerd. No, he's DOING THE RIGHT THING regardless of the intimidation leveled by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Click to SEND EMAIL to Speaker of the House Pelosi right now, insisting that the Articles of Impeachment be acted upon in full compliance with the law and the Will of the People who demand it!
Click to SEND EMAIL to Speaker of the House Pelosi right now, insisting that the Articles of Impeachment be acted upon in full compliance with the law and the Will of the People who demand it!
REUTERS! On America's never-ending prohibition
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's alcohol prohibition lasted 13 years, filled the country's prisons, inspired contempt for the law among millions, bred corruption and produced Al Capone. What it did not do was keep Americans from drinking.America's marijuana prohibition drew into its 72nd year this month. It has created a huge underground industry catering to users, helped the U.S. prison population balloon into the world's largest, and diverted the resources of American law enforcement. What it has not done is keep Americans from using marijuana.
On the contrary. Since 1937, the year marijuana was outlawed, its use in the United States has gone up by 4,000 percent, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based lobby group which advocates regulating the drug similar to alcohol. A recent World Health Organization study of marijuana use in 17 countries placed Americans at the top of the list.
The 1920-1933 prohibition on the sale, production and transportation of alcohol is now seen as a dismal failure of social engineering. Will the prohibition on marijuana ever be seen in a similar light?
Read the Full Coverage: America's never-ending prohibition: Bernd Debusmann | Special Coverage | Reuters
Federales Raid San Diego Dispensaries
Three more people arrested in raids at marijuana dispensaries in San Diego.
This is why we REALLY REALLY REALLY need to support the Federal Legislation highlighted here. Please. These three people are probably headed for VERY LONG federal sentences and it is only up to US ... those making the sacrifice to follow the current law, while FIGHTING TO CHANGE IT EVERY DAY ... to free them.
WE ARE THE ONLY ONES who can ever possibly free these political prisoners. We are every bit in the same role as those who fought so long against the wrongful political incarceration of Nelson Mandela.
Marijuana Prohibition should infuriate our Patriotic Moral Conscience every bit as much as apartheid enraged Patriotic South Africans.
It truly is a war, a preemptive and unprovoked one waged against our own Citizens, and only by fighting nobly and without retreat can we ever stand a chance of evicting the imperialist aggressor within and once again assume the rightful democratic rule of our own great nation.
This is why we REALLY REALLY REALLY need to support the Federal Legislation highlighted here. Please. These three people are probably headed for VERY LONG federal sentences and it is only up to US ... those making the sacrifice to follow the current law, while FIGHTING TO CHANGE IT EVERY DAY ... to free them.
WE ARE THE ONLY ONES who can ever possibly free these political prisoners. We are every bit in the same role as those who fought so long against the wrongful political incarceration of Nelson Mandela.
Marijuana Prohibition should infuriate our Patriotic Moral Conscience every bit as much as apartheid enraged Patriotic South Africans.
It truly is a war, a preemptive and unprovoked one waged against our own Citizens, and only by fighting nobly and without retreat can we ever stand a chance of evicting the imperialist aggressor within and once again assume the rightful democratic rule of our own great nation.
Today is THE Day we End Prohibition
Yes, after nearly a quarter century of sacrifice and effort, we NOW HAVE FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO END PROHIBITION working its way through the Congressional committee process!
What we must do: simply send this letter, already written for you, to YOUR congress person. It only takes a few minutes.
Yes, we will need to be on our best behavior once we are on this self-identified HIT LIST of activists. But GODDAMN if I will let them continue to terrorize my friends, family, and descendants on into history.
I have EVERY OBLIGATION to make this world safer and saner for my children and grand children, and so the small sacrifice of staying off their unjust radar long enough to CHANGE THE STUPIDITY is far more than worth my sacrifice.
We've worked more than 24 years for this, and now is the time to act with the full force of our collective People Power!
What we must do: simply send this letter, already written for you, to YOUR congress person. It only takes a few minutes.
Yes, we will need to be on our best behavior once we are on this self-identified HIT LIST of activists. But GODDAMN if I will let them continue to terrorize my friends, family, and descendants on into history.
I have EVERY OBLIGATION to make this world safer and saner for my children and grand children, and so the small sacrifice of staying off their unjust radar long enough to CHANGE THE STUPIDITY is far more than worth my sacrifice.
We've worked more than 24 years for this, and now is the time to act with the full force of our collective People Power!
Dear Hypocrisy Machine: "It is time to give up -- YOU ARE TOAST."
Holy F*ing Shite! If this isn't worthy of the old 60's pejorative, "Ignorant F*ing P*G," than I don't know what is! ROTFLMAO!!!
The thing is, almost ALL OF US know cops that do the same thing *and* who often then share with US, just because we are on their "good side." This bullshit game is SO OVER. OMG, THIS IS BEYOND HILARIOUS!!!
Congressman Barney Frank, "the fact that you'd lock people up for smoking marijuana is DUMB!" OUR MOST PATRIOTIC CONGRESSMAN'S WORDS!
The thing is, almost ALL OF US know cops that do the same thing *and* who often then share with US, just because we are on their "good side." This bullshit game is SO OVER. OMG, THIS IS BEYOND HILARIOUS!!!
Congressman Barney Frank, "the fact that you'd lock people up for smoking marijuana is DUMB!" OUR MOST PATRIOTIC CONGRESSMAN'S WORDS!
Federal Legislation Introduced to END PROHIBITION!
An historic Marijuana bill sparks debate among CNN iReporters, and poses the most significant chance at real progress in our lifetimes. On July 30, 2008:
Why are they our most promising? Because the MOST PROMISING amongst us have always investigated and pursued the TRUTH above all else. And the TRUTH is that marijuana prohibition is sapping the resources of our prison system, pushing dangerous violent criminals onto the streets all in the name of defending hypocritical antebellum morals that have absolutely nothing to do with the scientific classification of similar substances.
Alcohol and tobacco are both arguably FAR WORSE for humans in many respects, and the public paranoia over marijuana has persisted for far too long.
Free at last ... free at last ... thank GAWD almighty, we will soon be FREE AT LAST!
- House Rep. Barney Frank introduced a bill (HR 5843; 93% in favor on GovIT!) legalizing marijuana possession
- CNN.com asked iReporters to share their views on legalizing recreational pot use
- The overwhelming majority of iReporters who responded favor legalization
- iReport: What is your take on the pot debate? Be a part of the conversation
Why are they our most promising? Because the MOST PROMISING amongst us have always investigated and pursued the TRUTH above all else. And the TRUTH is that marijuana prohibition is sapping the resources of our prison system, pushing dangerous violent criminals onto the streets all in the name of defending hypocritical antebellum morals that have absolutely nothing to do with the scientific classification of similar substances.
Alcohol and tobacco are both arguably FAR WORSE for humans in many respects, and the public paranoia over marijuana has persisted for far too long.
Free at last ... free at last ... thank GAWD almighty, we will soon be FREE AT LAST!
Disparity Between Alcohol and Marijuana Policy
Every cop knows that alcohol Clearly Promotes Vastly More Antisocial Behavior as compared to marijuana.
Quick Register to Vote Online
Finally! Just click here, fill in 60 seconds of information, print, and send. Sorry, they still do require your hard copy signature, but this is a million times easier than its ever been.
Industrial Hemp for Ethanol, Textiles, More
Here we have a rather long post, but one that I hope you will bookmark as a reliable and meaningful reference when lobbying your local, state, and federal representatives to bring end to this long national nightmare which is Marijuana Prohibition.
First, an excerpt from the American Energy Independence blog. The entire article should be digested to gain a fuller context; however, the following will convey a sense of the argument:
First, an excerpt from the American Energy Independence blog. The entire article should be digested to gain a fuller context; however, the following will convey a sense of the argument:
From 1776 to 1937, hemp was a major American crop and textiles made from hemp were common. Yet, The American Textile Museum, The Smithsonian Institute, and most American history books contain no mention of hemp. The government's War on Marijuana Smokers has created an atmosphere of self censorship—speaking of hemp in a positive manner is considered taboo.
United States Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp, used products made from hemp, and praised the hemp plant in some of their writings.“…do me a singular favour in advising of the general price one might expect for good Hemp in your Port watered and prepared according to Act of Parliament, with an estimate of the freight, and all other Incident charges pr. Tonn that I may form some Idea of the profits resulting from the growth.” –George Washington to Robert Cary & Company, September 20, 1765. Taken from the Library of Congress archives.Under the laws written by today's politicians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would be considered a threat to society — they would be arrested and thrown in prison for the felony crime of growing plants.
More that 700,000 Americans are arrested every year on marijuana related charges—this is approximately one person every 45 seconds. Some consider this to be the biggest problem with the War on Drugs. Our laws against cannabis not only criminalize millions of recreational smokers, but also, they make no exception for terminally ill patients who could benefit from smoked marijuana as medicine, and farmers who could grow hemp for industrial purposes.
Many claim that hemp has the potential to revive the struggling farming economy. All must understand that hemp is not a drug, it is the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana.
"The fact that the DEA has classified [all varieties of] cannabis as a Schedule One substance, the same category as cocaine and heroin, is completely unjustifiable." -- Students for Sensible Drug Policy at the University of Wisconsin
"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to the individual than use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use." —Former President Jimmy Carter
Prisons needlessly overpopulated with drug offenders —by Walter CronkiteNext, from Global Hemp, an excerpt from a reprint of a 1995 High Times article urging political activism that is still relevant today. Although the article pre-dates the current ethanol food-into-fuel debacle, it's wisdom is prescient in retrospect. Keep in mind that when we choose to make the "sacrifice" of following the existing RETARDED laws, we can call and agitate and insist that our representative listen to us with no fear of retaliation. If I am still smoking, what are the odds that I can feel confidently righteous in attacking the true source of the problem? If you have any leanings toward activism, pleaase give it a thought.
The national biofuels program is a long-term effort that relies on extensive research and development. This effort represents a significant investment by the federal government in achieving its bioenergy objectives. Its purpose is to discover more about the energy capability of plants high in cellulose and seed oil. Hemp is rich in both.
You should ask your congressional representatives why the United States isn’t studying hemp for this purpose. Do not accept excuses that this or that other crop produces more fiber, better oil or more biomass. The USDA is studying dozens of plants, many with overlapping potentials. If they deserve study, why not hemp? Do not accept excuses that the plant lacks modern economic value, for technological developments are providing many old products with new value. Again, why not hemp?
Cannabis provides just as much usable cellulose and seed oil as many other plants being developed as energy crops, but uniquely produces two energy-source materials from a single plant. There are plants that produce more biomass or more seed oil than cannabis, but how many can provide both at once, in one plant?
Hemp for fuel: pipe dream or economic reality? That’s up to you. Do your congressional representatives even know we have a national biofuels program? If not, show them this article and put them on the spot: Why not hemp?Finally, from a 1990 interview (yes, almost 20 YEARS AGO!) with "Establishment Journalist" Hugh Downs of ABC News (think of a more conservative Anderson Cooper or Joe Scarborough of his day).
Downs: The reason the pro-marijuana lobby want marijuana legal has little to do with getting high, and a great deal to do with fighting oil giants like Saddam Hussein (this was 1990!!!), Exxon, and Iran. The pro-marijuana groups claim that hemp is such a versatile raw material, that its products not only compete with petroleum, but with coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, pharmaceutical, timber and textile companies.Think about that for a minute. The first time "billion dollar" markets emerged, which are only now commonplace today, 70 years later.
It is estimated that methane and methanol production alone from hemp grown as biomass could replace 90% of the world's energy needs. If they are right, this is not good news for oil interests and could account for the continuation of marijuana prohibition. The claim is that the threat hemp posed to natural resource companies back in the thirties accounts for its original ban.
Hemp fiber-stripping machines were bad news to the Hearst paper manufacturing division, and a host of other natural resource firms. Coincidentally, the DuPont Chemical Company had, in 1937, been granted a patent on a sulfuric acid process to make paper from wood pulp. At the time DuPont predicted their sulfuric acid process would account for 80% of their business for the next 50 years.
Hemp, once the mainstay of American agriculture, became a threat to a handful of corporate giants. To stifle the commercial threat that hemp posed to timber interests, William Randolph Hearst began referring to hemp in his newspapers, by its Spanish name, "marijuana." This did two things: it associated the plant with Mexicans and played on racist fears, and it misled the public into thinking that marijuana and hemp were different plants.
Nobody was afraid of hemp -- it had been cultivated and processed into usable goods, and consumed as medicine, and burned in oil lamps, for hundreds of years. But after a campaign to discredit hemp in the Hearst newspapers, Americans became afraid of something called marijuana.
By 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed which marked the beginning of the end of the hemp industry. In 1938, "Popular Mechanics" ran an article about marijuana called, "New Billion Dollar Crop." It was the first time the words "billion dollar" were used to describe a U.S. agricultural product.
Heavy Metal Monkage
Has nothing to do with hemp, per se, but does further illustrate that age discrimination is bullshit and young people have no monopoly on feeling oppressed or desiring to break out of the societal cookie cutter mold. People should be allowed to do WHATEVER THEY WANT at ANY AGE.
California's Inalienable Rights Enforcement Initiative
Whatever happened to STATE'S RIGHTS? We're TAKING THEM BACK, that's what. Please do read the LAO analysis of The California Inalienable Rights Enforcement Initiative (A.G. File No. 08‑0009) in its entirety right now. It's short, but could be pivotal in the the century long history of our struggle.
Our regular readers know that I don't ever insist on reading right now unless it is vitally essential. Please, do read it right now. It's not that long and by writing to your congress person to support this key legislation and then VOTING to support this measure, we will strike a major blow against the Totalitarian Prohibition Regime. Excerpt:
March 24, 2008
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, [the California Legislative Analyst's Office has] reviewed the proposed initiative cited as the “The Inalienable Rights Enforcement Initiative” (A.G. File No. 08‑0009). The initiative amends the State Constitution and adds Section 32 that allows, with certain restrictions, the legal cultivation, possession, transportation, sale, and use of marijuana.
Given that the federal government continues to enforce [utterly backward] federal marijuana laws after the passage of California's Proposition 215, which allowed marijuana use for medicinal purposes, it is likely that enforcement of federal marijuana laws would continue if this measure is enacted. As such, any revenues and expenditures generated by this measure would be subject to significant uncertainty. The measure would have the following major fiscal effects:
- Potential savings of up to several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments, which would no longer incur the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders.
- Potential costs of up to the tens of millions of dollars to state and local governments to fund the one-time start-up costs of the IREBs.
- A potentially significant increase in state and local spending on substance abuse treatment services that could possibly be partially or fully offset by revenues from this measure.
- Potential increased revenues in the tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars annually from marijuana stamps and licenses to support specified programs and the IREBs.
- Unknown but potentially significant increase in state and local revenues from collection of SUT on the sale of Marijuana.
- Unknown but potentially significant decrease in state and local revenues from taxes on tobacco and alcohol due to a prohibition of advertising for these goods that would likely result in a decline in sales.
Vermont Hemp Farming Bill Becomes Law
Vote Hemp: News: Press Releases: 7-1-08
MONTPELIER, Vermont — Vote Hemp, a grassroots advocacy organization working to give farmers the right to grow non-drug industrial hemp, is extremely pleased that the Vermont Secretary of State's office accepted Formal Opinion #2008-1 from the Office of the Attorney General and gave H.267, the Hemp for Vermont bill, the designation of Act No. 212 last Friday. The new law sets up a state-regulated program for farmers to grow non-drug industrial hemp which is used in a wide variety of products, including nutritious foods, cosmetics, body care, clothing, tree-free paper, auto parts, building materials and much more. Learn more about industrial hemp at the Vote Hemp Web site.
The Planet is Fine. Us? Not so much.
"The planet is FINE ... the PEOPLE are fucked!" -- George Carlin
Hemp for Victory
This film is authentic even though no less than the Library of Congress LIED ABOUT IT'S EXISTENCE until it could no longer be denied. The hypocrisy of marijuana prohibition is so far beyond absurd as to render any thinking American utterly mortified that We The People have tolerated the abuses of Government that would one day SUBSIDIZE our growing of hemp and the next IMPRISON OUR CHILDREN for it's possession or recreational use.
And this is a government to whom we are to feel proud to pledge allegiance? I think not. However, WE CAN BE THE CHANGE WE SEEK IN THE WORLD and can *change* these backward policies through education and solidarity in action.
And this is a government to whom we are to feel proud to pledge allegiance? I think not. However, WE CAN BE THE CHANGE WE SEEK IN THE WORLD and can *change* these backward policies through education and solidarity in action.
Bush Impeachment in Progress
Metallica Has Smoked Themselves Retarded
So sad, but Mark is right:
I try not to throw this terminology around lightly, either, as I’ve witnessed [and partaken in] a fair amount of mental incapacity and inebriation in my life. This is the only explanation I can proffer that seems to make any sense, though.
Under the Influence: The Chemical Muse
Public Radio International (PRI), National Public Radio (NPR), and Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR)'s To The Best of Our Knowledge (TTBOOK) present Under the Influence:
You can find additional Editorial Reviews at Barnes and Noble:
David Hillman almost lost his chance for a PhD when his doctoral committee questioned the part of his dissertation on recreational drug use in antiquity. He took it out, but revived it for his book "The Chemical Muse : Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization." He tells Jim Fleming that drug use was common in Greco-Roman times, and that the ancients thought it helped them get closer to the gods.Program 08-05-18-B (click to listen now).
You can find additional Editorial Reviews at Barnes and Noble:
[EXCERPT from Publishers Weekly] -- Ancient Greeks and Romans used substances from plants and animals to heal the body, but also, Hillman says, to heal the mind and as a source of creative inspiration. Taking up an old thesis of such scholars as Morton Smith and John Allegro, Hillman contends that ancient poets and playwrights from Homer to Aristophanes, and philosophers from Pythagoras to Empedocles, featured the use of mind-altering drugs in their writings. Hillman ends with a peroration on the roots of the Western notion of freedom in ancient Greece and on the right to use recreational drugs as a core freedom.
Kirkus Reviews (Source) -- In ancient Greece and Rome the right to use recreational drugs was not just accepted, but an important aspect of personal freedom. Conservative academics don't want this to get around, claims debut author Hillman, asserting that he was told to delete material on recreational drug use from his dissertation for a doctorate in classics from the University of Wisconsin. That incident provided the incentive for this book, which argues that psychotropic drugs played a crucial role in the history of Western intellectual development. The earliest Greek philosophers, Hillman avers, "flourished in a society that embraced the intellectual, social, and political freedoms associated with recreational drug use." They understood the value of mind-altering substances in assisting creativity and advocated their use. In the ancient world, he continues, such botanical medicines as opium and belladonna were a comfort and a source of hope; they were often mixed with wine, or inhaled, or applied as suppositories to provide relief from pain and illness. Knowledge of their powerful effects-euphoria, sedation, states of altered perception, temporary psychosis-was widespread, and ancient myths are replete with instances of their power. The author combs the writings of Homer, Virgil and Ovid for references to narcotics and the effects of various stimulants, seeking to demonstrate their familiarity to those authors and their audiences. Among the personal freedoms valued highly by the founders of Western civilization, he contends, was the right of the individual to use drugs of any kind; Hillman views the loss of this right as deplorable. Apparently still stinging from his academic experience, he claims that classical scholars have a moral bent that has led them to ignore this subject, making "the Greco-Roman fascination with narcotics, stimulants, and depressants . . . the last unexplored frontier of ancient history."If the movement to legalize marijuana is looking for an irate classicist as spokesman, Hillman is it.
2008 Presidential Candidates Come Clean on Marijuana Use
FINALLY! Once we can at least get some truth tellers in the highest office of the land, it may not be long before we finally END THE MORONIC WAR ON MARIJUANA!
As it turns out, while Kerry and others also went on record professing the truth, it is the introspective Barack Obama, leading what we might call the New American Century for Sanity and Truth In Public Policy Movement.
As it turns out, while Kerry and others also went on record professing the truth, it is the introspective Barack Obama, leading what we might call the New American Century for Sanity and Truth In Public Policy Movement.
Hemp for Eliot
It's a little off-topic, but the videos at this link are completely stereotypical of the hubris and hypocrisy that keeps STUPID laws on the books and stupid people defending them.
Jon Stewart’s Recipe for Spitzer Stew
Jon Stewart’s Recipe for Spitzer Stew
Canadians are all potheads ... but they are still better than us
So posits prolific writer, ATP licensed pilot, photographer, and self-described recovering computer programmer-engineer Philip Greenspun in response to this gratuitously hyperbolic, fear-mongering Wall Street Journal article which absurdly attempts to imply that legalizing marijuana has somehow led directly and immediately to "the execution-style murders of six people" while dismissively glossing over the fact that the "greater Vancouver remains one of the safest metropolitan areas in North America" in the very same article.
Brilliant. I'm shocked that a publication as venerable as the WSJ would tolerate such irrational and irresponsible histrionics; not to mention the inexcusably sloppy lumping together of all illicit drug-related crime -- cocaine, crack, heroine -- as somehow typical of "those marijuana users." That's utterly absurd, Dougy, and you know better. Shame on you.
Just like at the end of alcohol prohibition, there are bound to be some pissed off thugs here and there when we take away their tax-free black market cash and put it to work in our American Economy, including a sizable boost to tax revenues. That is the best reason to LEGALIZE, rather than a reason to revoke Canada's progressive policy.
Brilliant. I'm shocked that a publication as venerable as the WSJ would tolerate such irrational and irresponsible histrionics; not to mention the inexcusably sloppy lumping together of all illicit drug-related crime -- cocaine, crack, heroine -- as somehow typical of "those marijuana users." That's utterly absurd, Dougy, and you know better. Shame on you.
Just like at the end of alcohol prohibition, there are bound to be some pissed off thugs here and there when we take away their tax-free black market cash and put it to work in our American Economy, including a sizable boost to tax revenues. That is the best reason to LEGALIZE, rather than a reason to revoke Canada's progressive policy.
Gladwell on The (Entirely Arbitrary) War On Drugs
The story begins at gladwell.com: The War on Drugs, as follows:
From the January 14, 2008 Sports Illustrated:
Page 36: "Then, on a late touchdown run against Arkansas on Nov. 23 [LSU quarterback Matt Flynn] separated his throwing shoulder. Two painkilling injections allowed him to stay in the game."
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