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| Of Cannabis and Compassion |
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Posted by FoM on September 27, 2001 at 20:20:55 PT By Sid Tafler Source: Monday Magazine 
I’m going to take you on a trip. A drug trip. The drug is marijuana. But don’t worry—you, the reader, don’t have to smoke it, eat it, buy it or sell it. You just have to think about it. And meet the people who do just that, all their waking hours. We’ll take this trip together. I’ll be your guide. And when it’s over, you’ll realize that marijuana is not what you think it is. For one thing, it’s no longer illegal. Or, if we need a finer shade of grey, it’s tolerated, or quasi-legal—legal under some circumstances, but not others. For another, the marijuana trade in B.C. is not the sure-fire million-dollar bonanza hyped in the national and United States media. In fact, the vast majority of people in the trade make a modest living, or less. And some sell marijuana not for the money at all, but to help others and advance the cause of legalization, decriminalization, or even the celebration of pot as the wonder plant: a God-given, mind-expanding, universal source of food, fuel, fiber and healing. Our trip begins at the CBC in downtown Victoria. No, not the radio station, but the Cannabis Buyers Club, a white and red low-rent building on Johnson. The sign on the door says Smith’s Books, and in the window you see hard-covers with titles like The Complete Beauty Workshop and A Day in the Forest. But I’m here to tell you this book store is a front, quite literally. The same used books sit in the window, week after month. Let’s go in. Smell the incense, hear Jimi Hendrix on the tape deck. In the back room, a well-worn couch, a few chairs, a desk with a scale and three small glass jars filled with marijuana. The jars are hand-labelled: Happy Robot, Strawberry, Red-Haired Bob. Prices are posted on the wall: $10 a gram and $215 an ounce for triple-A indoor bud, the highest grade of potent flowering tops. Pick up a jar. Those tiny ice-like formations on the bud are THC crystals. Now smell it. If you’re a marijuana user, you’ll say, “Wow!” You’re probably wondering how anyone can sell marijuana in a bookstore in downtown Victoria. Well, this isn’t just any marijuana, this is medical marijuana. It’s for pain, nausea or depression, to stimulate your appetite or relieve the symptoms of glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis. Or whatever else ails you. If you don’t like to smoke, the CBC offers marijuana cookies—chocolate chip, shortbread, ginger snaps, 50 cents or a buck—or a vial of oil-based pot salve to rub on your skin. Sit down on the couch. Watch people come in. Many buy a gram or an eighth of an ounce. The woman behind the desk weighs it carefully. Don’t stare at the man in the wheelchair with the dirty hat, the same guy you’ve seen panhandling. Or the husky, dark-haired man in the T-shirt who barely survived an accident and moves as slowly as a baby learning to walk. Of Pot and Proof Here’s the shopkeeper, Ted Smith. He’s tall, lean, 32, wears jeans worn through at the knees and a T-shirt with the message, “You might as well grow it. There’s no fish or trees left any more.” To become a member of the CBC, you need proof of an incurable medical condition. That sounds severe, but besides frightening terminal illnesses like cancer and AIDS, “incurable” can also cover backache, depression, asthma. “Proof” can be a note from your doctor or other healer, a WCB form or even the inhaler you use to clear your lungs. Smith has been selling medical marijuana in Victoria for nearly six years, and while he’s never been arrested for it, he can never be sure he won’t be. He struggles for the words to explain the CBC’s legal status. “It’s a grey area, a very fine grey area . . . but it’s still grey.” This status is a result of a delicate balance between courts, police, the federal government and medical marijuana sellers and buyers. Medical marijuana enjoys a level of immunity from the law due to several court cases acquitting patients who use it, including an Ontario ruling that ordered the government to make medical marijuana available to those needing it. So the federal government is growing a crop in—of all places—an abandoned copper mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba. That crop won’t be ready until next February, so could a judge convict a patient for buying marijuana on the quasi-legal market, if none is available legally? Not likely. At least until February, it seems Smith’s grey area is as close to white as it’s ever been. “If it’s not illegal,” he says, “it must be legal.” Smith feels the CBC hasn’t been busted because of his work as a community activist. He’s worked with groups that help street people and inner city youth, and served on the mayor’s task force on downtown safety. For a marijuana dealer, he enjoys a measure of public respectability. But discretion is still advised. CBC members are not allowed to smoke pot on the premises, or resell their purchases (tempting, because the price per ounce is significantly lower than street costs). Suddenly our conversation is interrupted by a man and his teenage son. The man calmly explains that, like him, his son is HIV-positive. He believes his son contracted it from him, as did the rest of the family, by using the same dishes and cutlery. He wants Smith to supply his son with marijuana “so he doesn’t have to get it on the street.” Smith tells him he’ll have to come back with a doctor’s certificate. Buying pot at the CBC may be quasi-legal, but tolerance is at the discretion of the police. Growers and dealers who supply the CBC may also enjoy legal immunity, especially if they can satisfy a judge that they only sell their crop for medical marijuana. At least one local indoor grower has a sign posted at his grow-op indicating just that. When it comes to openly smoking marijuana on the street, police tolerance decreases, although the bust usually results in confiscation, not charges. “This is a tourist town and the downtown merchants don’t like to see people smoking pot on the streets,” says Smith, who is working to change that. In the marijuana movement, there are two types of reformer: medical marijuana suppliers who sell pot to the sick, and activists who challenge the laws through advocacy and street protest. Smith does both. He’s distributed free pot cookies and joints, and led mass smoke-ins at the University of Victoria, on downtown streets and in Beacon Hill Park. He’s also written a book called Hempology 101—self-published and hand-bound with hemp rope. In it, he writes that cannabis can be used for over 30,000 products. To him, marijuana is not just a drug or a herb. It’s a cure, a political cause, a subculture, a religion, a revolution. Ironically (but not surprisingly), Smith’s out-front street work has led to charges of trafficking and possession for the purpose, although his street activism involves only a tiny fraction of the pot he distributes through the CBC. One arrest was for a smoke-in at UVic, another for distributing pot cookies at the Central Library. He seems eager to argue his case in court next month. It will be one of several marijuana cases due to be heard across the country this fall that will be argued on constitutional grounds. Acquittals or discharges could further weaken the drug laws, or (the dream of the pot lobby) throw them out entirely. The issue has been passed around like a dead roach at the political level for more than 30 years in this country. The evidence that persecution of marijuana smokers does more harm than good, that marijuana is relatively benign when used recreationally, and a helpful medicine for the chronically ill far outweighs arguments against legalization. But marijuana has been kept in criminal chains by our politicians, drug lawyers, pharmaceutical companies and other beneficiaries of the war on drugs. Behind their backs, marijuana is gradually becoming legalized by default. Compassion Club Now I’ll blindfold you, because Victoria’s other pot shop—yes, there are two—doesn’t want its location revealed. It’s the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, 360-8955. Its website is -- http://www.thevics.com We’re here. Take off the blindfold and meet Philippe Lucas, the society’s founder and director. In his button-down blue checked shirt, cuffed dockers and mod glasses, Lucas looks more like a refugee from JDS Uniphase than a stoner. The VICS shop resembles a medical office, or at least an alternative therapy clinic. Lucas claims to be one of the leading experts on medical marijuana in the country, and reels off an impressive list of cures of conditions ranging from Huntington’s chorea to Hepatitis C. He talks rapidly, describing the relief he provides to his 200 members, and his 70 percent to 80 percent success rate. In particular, it helps AIDS patients, whose drug treatments often produce nausea and loss of appetite. “They’re literally wasting away. Their body is constantly fighting the disease and they can’t process the food they eat.” There are no effective pharmaceutical appetite stimulants, he says. A toke in the morning literally gets them out of bed, and as any dope smoker will attest, to the breakfast table. This can save or at least extend their lives. It’s ironic that we’re talking about how marijuana can help, when the scare stories of another era focused on how much it could hurt—drive you insane, leave you lethargic, abandoned and penniless. Lucas is careful about approving members of his club. Patients and their doctors must complete a three-page form, and the VICS confirm the condition with the doctor before setting up an appointment for registration. It may seem excessively bureaucratic, but Lucas says he’s careful. Despite all his cross-checking, the compassion society got busted last year, when it was located in Oak Bay. Someone broke into the office and stole some supplies, and when Lucas complained to the Oak Bay police, they charged him with trafficking and possession for the purpose. That didn’t shut the VICS down, but it did encourage them to relocate on the edge of downtown Victoria. I find it remarkable that these dealers of medical pot seem to be motivated more by the cause than any personal gain. Lucas says the VICS owes him $20,000 in unpaid wages and he’s forgiven an $8,000 debt the society owed him. For three months after the bust, he didn’t collect a salary. He says the club provides him with “a living wage and nothing else.” So why does he do it? “I’m doing something that interests me and can help people.” Smith seems to get by on even less, living in a one-room loft apartment close to the CBC. He hitchhikes to his girlfriend’s house in Cobble Hill on the weekends. “I could make a lot of money if I wanted to, but I only take enough to feed myself. Everything else is invested back into the club,” he says. Cash Crop So if it’s not at the medical marijuana level, where’s the big B.C. dope money? It must be reaped by the growers, those underground green thumbs with high-powered lights and ingenious tricks to fool the cops, BC Hydro and the U.S. border patrol. But evidence indicates few growers make much money either. Lucas estimates that three to five percent are doing well, 75 percent are at a subsistence level and 20 percent are losing their shirts. Others in the industry, including several growers I talked to, confirm his estimate. The National Post had a story last summer about the easy million-dollar take growing pot in B.C., but the reality is it’s a demanding, difficult business that churns out scores of paupers and few millionaires. The plants need daily care, costs of equipment and power are high, and a host of bugs, worms and moulds—and knocks on the door at night—can wipe you out. Yet the allure of easy money in a homegrown business, and the shortage of other options, has attracted thousands of newcomers to the trade in recent years, driving down the price from as high as $3,700 a pound to the current $2,400, squeezing profit margins even tighter. So where’s the $6-billion B.C. pot economy touted by the Organized Crime Agency? It must be in Vancouver, the big, er, smoke. Let’s go to visit Marc Emery, the Prince of Pot. We find him at Hastings near Cambie, in the biggest head shop you’ve ever seen. Its the headquarters of the Marijuana Party -- http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca/ -- as well as web-based PotTV -- http://www.pot-tv.net/ -- and Cannabis Culture -- http://www.cannabisculture.com/ -- the marijuana magazine, all part of Emery’s empire. Emery is a Tim Robbins look-alike, hair slicked back, jeans and open-necked shirt, rocket-fuel energy and endless, rapid-fire replies to my questions. He sells marijuana seeds, hundreds of varieties, some for as much as $40 each, from his website, emeryseeds.com. Now here’s where the money is. He takes in $2-million-plus a year. But the Prince of Pot, it turns out, is even more of a do-gooder than Smith and Lucas. He claims he gives away 90 percent of his money to the cause. Name an important marijuana challenge in B.C., including Lucas’s, and it’s likely Emery is footing the legal bill. Last year, he estimates, he put up $400,000 for court costs alone. He also funds his media outlets and the Marijuana Party, which ran candidates in every B.C. riding last spring. “That’s what I raise the money for, not for my personal wealth.” The B.C. marijuana industry earns more like $4 billion than $6 billion, says Emery, spread among thousands of growers, processors, shippers and dealers across the province. A decentralized, diversified industry and a cash crop that brings a consistent flow of U.S. dollars into the province—and no countervailing tariffs. The price doubles once you get it across the border. As his machine-gun rap continues, someone walks by Emery’s desk and asks for some bud. Emery reaches into a bag and gives him a handful. A few minutes later, he gives away more. No one who asks, it seems, is turned away. I’m tempted, but hey, we’re working. Later, another man comes by and Emery peels off $1,250 in $50-dollar bills and gives it him, then checks off the amount on a chit. This man asks for pot as well, and Emery hands him the rest of the bag. Emery’s big push right now is to open as many medical marijuana shops as he can before pot is fully legal, which he predicts will be by the end of 2002. He plans to start 10 by the end of this year. “I have to make sure distribution doesn’t just end up in government hands.” When pot is fully legal, Emery and other campaigners won’t give up the fight. They’ll demand a court of inquiry to seek compensation for the thousands of people whose lives were ruined by the war on drugs. “It’s outrageous. The government has known for 30 or 40 years there’s nothing wrong with marijuana. We’ll have to find out why the government did nothing while people were hunted down.” And with that he’s gone, out the back door. He has to run his seed business, out of a safe house somewhere in the Lower Mainland, that he rotates every two or three weeks. So what have we learned on our trip? That the movable force called the marijuana revolution has only just begun. Note: Victoria’s own pot shops prove that if it’s not illegal, it must be legal. Source: Monday Magazine (CN BC) Related Articles & Web Site: FTE's Canadian Links Half-Baked Questions Canadian Marijuana Madness Could Infect U.S. Canada Legalizes Marijuana For Medical Purposes Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #30 posted by dddd on September 29, 2001 at 02:50:29 PT |
| ...Here's an article worthy of discussion.....it speaks about the types of things I'm talking about.....dddd http://commondreams.org/views01/0928-06.htm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #29 posted by dddd on September 29, 2001 at 00:34:03 PT |
| ...I appreciate all those who support and agree with my views,,,................................................................ ,and to all of those who disagree with me,,,You are terrorists,,and I will track you down and kill you! ................ .................................d ...d .....d .d [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #28 posted by dddd on September 28, 2001 at 21:15:24 PT |
| ..I understand and respect your viewpoint.You went to war many years ago,under the flag,and you are very sensitive about what it means to you.I appreciate that.I dont have to love todays screwed up government,to love my country,and its flag....our government has become little more than a corporate whore..It's no longer For and by the People..I see alot of taxation without representation.
............I am not going to move,,,and I think we should discuss what a patriot is.Being a patriot does not mean one should blindly accept our government,,quite the contrary,,,a true patriot,is one who will stand against those who are destroying our freedom.Just because Bush,and his gang of power abusing henchman wave the flag around,it doesnt mean that he's a patriot.I think Bush should have his own flag,with all the corporate logos of his sponsors drowning out the stars & stripes,like some NASCAR racer.....dddd FoM..George Jones,,Country music legend! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #27 posted by CongressmanSuet on September 28, 2001 at 19:05:07 PT |
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it would have to be upside-down. Our freedom and democracy are at stake here.... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #26 posted by freedom fighter on September 28, 2001 at 18:25:00 PT |
| but at least buy an american made flag not the chinese made flag. There is a whole alot of difference btwn these flags.. ff [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #25 posted by FoM on September 28, 2001 at 13:59:36 PT |
| You're very welcome and thank you. I guess I look at things from simple ways but that is truly how I feel. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #24 posted by Silent_Observer on September 28, 2001 at 13:38:44 PT |
| and that includes people like yourself. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #23 posted by FoM on September 28, 2001 at 13:37:12 PT |
| I love the USA because it's the people that make this country great. No matter what happens we've watched people rise up and really help others during this disaster and that is what is special to me. That's America. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #22 posted by Silent_Observer on September 28, 2001 at 13:26:06 PT |
| as to whether you agree with me or not. My point is this. I believe the flag is symbolic of certain qualities of the country that I find are being violated at the moment. Those qualities include civil liberties, minimal governmental intrusion into my personal life and a respect for the freedoms of speech and self determination. Those qualities also include being true to democracy and to democratic principles here and abroad. Let me submit to you that grandstanding in front of the joint session of Congress and declaring that terrorists and countries that harbor them are one and the same, then going on to try to get Iran and Syria to join a coalition is hypocrisy at its finest. Let me submit to you also that sucking up to China - not exactly a democracy, I'm sure you'll agree - is a fine example of prostitution of democratic principles. Evidently, a billion potential consumers are more important than democracy. I could go on and on.... Personally, when I find that these principles are being violated, and when I find that our elected officials are the very rascals that are responsible for these violations, I realize that writing to my Congressman isn't worth the paper the letter is printed on. One look at the way Bob Barr treats the residents of the District of Columbia will tell you that. When I find that millions of dollars are wasted on investigating the scandals of elected officials in the name of "sending the right message to our children", I realize the worthlessness of taking these scoundrels too seriously. When I find billions being wasted on a war on a relatively innocuous substance, millions of upstanding citizens being put in jail for some ridiculously flippant "offense", when I read about 71 year old grandmothers being evicted from public housing because her grandson (unbeknownst to her) smoked a joint in the parking lot...I find that writing to Congressmen is the most absurd recourse. You don't write to a criminal to stop committing crimes. You ask what I would do? Let me tell you. Firstly, I vote my conscience. I take the time and trouble to educate myself on the platforms of parties other than the Republicrats. I take the time and trouble to watch the "third party" debates. I actually support the party of my choice financially. In short, I use every "legal weapon" I have to make my point. I don't need to be flying flags to prove my partiotism. I see enough flags being flown by hypocritical politicians to realize that flying a flag proves nothing. It is the taking of meaningful action that proves one's intentions. And one of the meaningful actions is NOT to tell people to go somewhere else if they don't like it here. That is a childish, petulant remark reminiscent of a spoiled pre-schooler.
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Comment #21 posted by tdm on September 28, 2001 at 13:11:10 PT:
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| As many have now pointed out, a flag's symbolism is in the eye of the beholder. Regardless of what I think the flag symbolizes, anyone seeing my flag (if I had one) is going to project onto it their own beliefs about its symbolism, and in turn onto me their own assumptions about my beliefs and values. Much of the "patriotism" being expressed today in the form of flag flying and otherwise is nothing but blind support of the policies formulated by our government and military leaders. Ignoring the very real consequences of whatever action might be taken is antithetical to the primacy of the virtue of reason. Taking these facts into consideration, I unfortunately associate the flag in my own mind with unthinking and unreasoned allegiance to the people running the country rather than reasoned allegiance to the ideas and values on which our country was founded. As a result, I refuse to fly a flag lest it and I be associated with this unquestioning patriotism. I choose words as my tool of patriotic expression because words are much less likely to be misunderstood. -tdm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 28, 2001 at 12:22:01 PT |
| What have all you been up too? Shame shame shame!!! You sure made us laugh. Thanks for all the great comments. I mean it when I say you all are the best.
dddd who's George Jones? LOL! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #19 posted by silentone on September 28, 2001 at 12:13:15 PT:
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| HA. Yes, I believe in medical mj. I have chronic back pains from an injury while working at Universal Studios. Not to mention that I was never Compensated! Anyway, if it was legal I would definitely use it. I take pain pills and muscle relaxers and often these pills knock people out. I have a very high tolerance for pain and can handle quite a bit of pills. They do have side effects, especially depression. That is why I don't take them too often. I have been through many. How can MJ not be legal. It a nothing but a plant with a mild sedative. Back to the basics. When we are born, who do we serve? No one! We are free souls and we were supposed to have elected officials to ensure our... 1: security of our borders and safety of citizens--not a police state 2: to serve us economically 3: ensure our well-being and happiness as a great diverse people--enjoying different substances and having individual, unique ideas 4: ensure that the laws in action are justifiable, accurate, and support the beliefs of the country. Too many laws exist. Furthermore, we need to keep in mind that, in my views, We serve: 1: GOD 2: Family 3: Family 4: Family 5: Family 6: Our company who, most of the time, treats us better than the govt. 7: Govt We need less government control; they need to enforce laws only regarding the action and intention of individuals hurting one another within our communities. We don't need the stasi, KGB or any other form of spying on one another or turning each other in. Do not turn your family members in! Your family will serve you better than any govt. Dump the drug war and use the savings for diabetes research or something. Use the proceeds from sales to do the same. Yes, Yes. I love freedom. I don't want to lose it on behalf of power hungry indivuals who think that we are stupid. OUR REMAINING FREEDOMS WILL SURVIVE. WE DO HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE NOT ONLY FOR MEDICAL, BUT BECAUSE IT IS OUR RIGHT. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #18 posted by Lindy on September 28, 2001 at 12:06:55 PT:
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| I guess this forum would want me to be ashamed of that. My military service goes beyond what I can take the time to elaborate on now. The perils my family endured to come here is what drives my patriotism. I kiss the earth and praise God my grandparents fled from their oppresson so that I could have the life I live today.
My involvement in the WoD is a personal crusade for me. My family is on the forefront of working for change, to stop prohibition and all that that implies. It is not only crucial for my family that these drug laws are changed,and all of us, but of course for those people languishing behind bars today, right NOW. There is no time to spread dissention. You are all right. Going in that direction will take years, if not lifetimes. We have to use the avenues that are available to us today! Like I have said before. Run for office!! Back a candidate!! VOTE!! Help get petitions signed!! Get your voice heard in the mainstream media!! At least talk to your neighbors. Pass out November Coalition newspapers. I have passed out BOXES of them. It gives you a chance to talk to people. You will be surprised how receptive people are! I am quite aware of what was deemed an "Old Redneck" slogan LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!". If you want to call it a tired old cant...so be it. If you prefer "America, Change It or Lose It"--whatever it takes to get people, at this time of need, to forget their political, religious, ethnic etc. differences and unite under one flag (OUR FLAG). It's the only one we have. It's up to all of us to make it work. Excuse me while I get back to my crusade. What will you do? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #17 posted by Dankhank on September 28, 2001 at 11:01:40 PT:
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| Love it ot leave it was the cry of the terminally patriotic a few of decades ago. Funny how the loudest then, and the loudest now crying that tired old cant usually had no history of military service. America, Change it or Lose it ... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by bruce42 on September 28, 2001 at 10:55:21 PT |
| Ok. You seem to have a problem with people badmouthing the government. Your solution to this problem involves removing the offenders from your presence by shipping them to Greenland. How UN-American. There is a reason this forum exists- free speech. It is one of the rights laid out in the Bill of Rights that patriotic Americans are desperately trying to prevent from becoming another victim of the WoD. Your desire to ship people away because you don't like what they say goes against this right. If you don't like what someone says, say so. Let them know what you think. That's just fine. But as soon as you start promoting the idea that all of our problems would be solved by dissapearing everyone we don't like is just not good form. I think a good portion of hate crimes can be attributed to that idea. If 4D don't want to buy a flag, he don't have to. It's a free country- sorta. And I'm afraid I have to agree with him. The flag represents this government, and our current government has seen fit to ignore our outright stomp all over the Constitution. Therefore, if you don't like what the government has done with your rights, I would reconsider flying the flag. On the other hand, the flag may represent your hope that someday the government will return to the ideals laid down by our founding fathers. Or more simply, as 4D pointed out, it might simply represent your love for the country, not necessarilly the government. A flag is just a symbol. An icon. A representation of an idea. What ideas the flag currently stands for is really up to the owner of the flag. If I were you I would read a bit about the swastika. Post WWII it stands for NAZI- and that's not so good. But thier swastika was CounterClockWise. A clockwise swastika in a different culture may have a very different meaning. Another example- by flying an American flag upside down, it is a sign of distress or danger. Perhaps flag owners who are distressed by the ideals being associated with the flag should reconsider how they fly the Red White and Blue. I know I would. Just a thought. Maybe I'm being silly. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #15 posted by Lindy on September 28, 2001 at 10:54:21 PT:
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| If you have a vision of what the flag should (and does) stand for, then FLY IT and work work work for change!
I'm sure SOME of our founding fathers were turning in their graves when we freed the slaves. When we find a better way, we WORK for change. The process our founding fathers laid down for us still works. We collectively stopped prohibition once--we can do it again. In honor of our founding fathers, I will not leave our flag in the back closet,Hide it or throw it in the garbage can. Because of them I can still write my opinion, and today I can go work for a US Senator that shares my views. What will you do? LOL (LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT) LINDY
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| Comment #14 posted by Silent_Observer on September 28, 2001 at 10:18:51 PT |
| Your point of view exemplifies the that of the totally uninitiated. When you don't like things the way they are, you try to change them - not run away from them. When you try to change them, you do so in a legal, peaceful manner. Thats why we have votes. Part of living in a free society is developing the wisdom to see the difference between the truly unpatriotic and the patriotic, who have seen through the smokescreen put out by the powers that be. I think dddd's vision of what the flag should stand for is something I would heartily endorse - genuine freedom in the right to select one's own mode of pursuit of happiness. I daresay the Founding Fathers would turn over in the graves if they could see what was happening now. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #13 posted by Lindy on September 28, 2001 at 10:12:05 PT:
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| I will donate my electric ski gloves....so as not to freeze and incapacitate your pen hand....from afar.
LOL Lindy [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #12 posted by kaptinemo on September 28, 2001 at 10:08:32 PT:
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| Anyone who has followed 4D's comment knows that 4D is no less patriotic than the rest of us. What he - and I - rail about is the matter of the government/media collusion that was a byproduct of ColdWar subborning of a once-free press. And the government sponsored mass-media manipulation techniques back then are being used against the Joe and Josephine Sixpacks of this country to bamboozle them into stampeding into a war that has more hidden dimensions to it than a Chinese puzzle-box. Some have asked here - and rightfully so, I might add - what business is it of those who frequent this place why this matters to the cause of cannabis re-legalization. Well, just take a look at the subjects of the last week, here. About how the Taliban are not just evil people; noooo, they're evil drug people. Like the way antis see you and me. Those of you who remember the DEAWatch quote from a DEAWatch comment poster that I repeated here. For the edification of those who weren't here, I'll repeat it: 12 Sep 2001, 14:09 PST, 5th Edition "N.M. Gov. Debates Legalizing Drugs with DEA Boss, con't: Instead of screwing around with Gary Johnson, Asa should be making public statements equating community drug dealers with terrorists. (Emphais mine. -k.) We all know that a good portion of drug money is going to terrorist organizations. Drug dealers and terrorists are one and the same: they both work to undermind our national security. Somebody should tell Asa to leave the debates to ONDCP and start acting like a law enforcement executive. He is missing a good media opportunity to raise the drug war issue. Terrorists and drug dealers are one and the same... or is it only the flower part of the poppy that Afghanistan ships to the U.S.??? Our opponents will stoop to new lows in branding us as legitimate targets in the media...which is happliy lapping up their dreck and defecating it out in the Taliban=evil druglords. The presently tacit (but soon to be spoken loudly and repeatedly, mark my words) assumption being fostered in Joe Sixpack's mind is that anyone favoring a reduction and/or abolition of penalties associated with drug use is a effin' national traitor. And should be fitted with a Nebraska Necktie. This very dangerous, faulty but widespread assumption that anyone who wants reform is an enemy sympathizer is bound to be heard ever more loudly. You who've been here a while know where my sympathies lie; I was willing to give my life in defense of this country. But not for it's government. Period. As many of you, I love my nation and it's somewhat benighted, and now frightend, people. But despise what it has done in shamefully seeking to exploit those it deliberately keeps in the dark about the real motivations behind it's actions...and the terrible cost we may yet pay because of them. And now it seeks to besmirch the reputations of real patriots seeking to improve the lives of all Americans with their stance on drug reform? And to use the mass media to accomplish this? Can you blame people like 4D for their anger? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by bruce42 on September 28, 2001 at 10:02:37 PT |
| That's a hellacious idea! It would sure be smarter than giving a bunch of emotionally and physically unstable people a bunch of alcohol! And people would be a lot less inclined to hijack a plane if stoned out of their mind on free pot cookies! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #10 posted by Dan B on September 28, 2001 at 09:46:15 PT:
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| I just read that America has 420 commercial airports. This give me a great idea for an ad campaign that supports both airport security and cannabis law reforms. I call it "Create a Safe 420!" We could have a logo that has a sillhouette of an airplane superimposed over a cannabis leaf, and we could advocate a program that would provide legal cannabis to everyone boarding an airplane (with the exception of flight personnel). Surely, a smoke or two before liftoff will calm everyone's fears and soothe everyone's spirits. It would likely cut down on "air rage" and promote friendly conversation among passengers, thus creating a more pleasant (and more safe) atmosphere for everyone. Of course, each flight would have to increase its inventory of pretzels and honey roasted peanuts, but that's a small price to pay for peace. Dan B P.S. If this little joke offends you . . . well, sorry, but that is part of the price we all pay for freedom of speech. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #9 posted by Lindy on September 28, 2001 at 09:29:01 PT:
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| Maybe then....you should buy a flag from another land! Now there is a novel thought. All the people that are so dissatisfied here, can go somewhere else. Then that will make more room for the people that are fighting to come here! Wow, now that was easy! Bon Voyage! (Write and let us know how it is) Best Wishes, Lindy [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by greenfox on September 28, 2001 at 09:24:41 PT |
| Marc claims by 2002 marijuana will be completely legal in Canada. I, for one, believe it. In the US is a different story. Here we have politicals cancelling elections, http://aclu.org/issues/drugpolicy/democracy_held_hostage.html and as far as medical marijuana goes: http://www.aclu.org/news/2000/n090800.html So it's going to be a long time. In the US, I say ten years minimum. Sound crazy? It is. That's why it's so bad. sig,fik, -gf [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #7 posted by Dan B on September 28, 2001 at 09:17:46 PT:
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| dont worry about being off topic,,,,I think FoM is gone today,,so we can say whatever we want. --dddd Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-hah! It's a free for all, everyone! Say what you want; our moderator has left the building! (Actually, I think everyone here pretty much says what he or she wants anyway, and FoM seems content with that--perhaps even encourages it--so dddd's statement is doubly funny). You cracked me up, dddd. Thanks. Dan B [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by dddd on September 28, 2001 at 08:57:18 PT |
| ...I actually already have a flag,,,had it all my life.......but somehow,the old Red,White,and Blue,aint what it used to be.......Cheers....dddd [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by Lindy on September 28, 2001 at 08:48:34 PT:
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| Buying a flag sounds like a good idea..... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by dddd on September 28, 2001 at 08:02:39 PT |
| ...and dont worry about being off topic,,,,I think FoM is gone today,,so we can say whatever we want.........I dont think you were off topic,,,you were on my favorite topic,and that is the government control of the media..........Try this experiment,,,,watch the evening news of several networks.Surf around ABC,,CBS,,NBC..FOX,,,,and as you watch,consider the content of the "reports"...I guarantee,that you dont have to look too hard,to realize that ,,the viewing public,is being "slipped a Mickey"........
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..It may sound strange,,,but I think that the public is being nurtured into mass collective opinion,,by an EVIL Uncle Sam,,,who is using the grand-daddy of date-rape drugs;The Media!......Is there someone out there,,who would like to tell me why they dont think that the media is guided by uncle Sam,,in an extremely heavy-handed way?.. ......Have I descended into some sort of delusional beat-nik/Hippie wig-out,,,and everything is actually normal,,,and I should go out and buy a flag,,and send 10 bucks to some "fund for survivors families",,,..??????Is my theory of a public that is manipulated by the media,little more than the insignificant concern of a rambling village idiot kind of guy???,,or maybe it's really obvious to everyone else,and I'm just now catchin' on,and people are too kind to say,"we know,,,we've known for years.,...Should I scale back on my frenetic babblings to avoid appearing to be a political heretic???.... ......................sometimes I kinda start to feel like a misguided Jesus freak on crack!........... .......just kidding........Im gonna put on some classic George Jones tunes,,and re-connect with the normal world Cheers.................d.....d.........d.............d [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Silent_Observer on September 28, 2001 at 07:13:07 PT |
| (so feel free to delete this, FoM)....but I personally wondered what the powers-that-be have been smoking. Fox and Friends (I will admit to watching it for entertainment) put up a wanted poster of the terrorists in support of a national "neighborhood watch". Could someone buy these people a clue? They're D-E-A-D! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on September 27, 2001 at 22:24:39 PT |
| my friend.. I know you guys can make it.. \/ ff [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on September 27, 2001 at 21:21:25 PT:
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| October PRA Deadline Postponed Until November
September 27, 2001
In an executive decision by Gregory C. Schmid, Director of the Personal
Responsibility Amendment ballot initiative committee and Michigan's NORML
Coordinator, the October 3, 2001 deadline to turn in all petition signatures
has been postponed until Tuesday, November 1, 2001. At the time of this
decision, an estimated 231,000 signatures had been collected since the start
of the petition drive on April 6, 2001. Schmid urged volunteers to "send a petition to everyone on your Christmas card list" and "make an effort to get out and petition every spare moment" in an email yesterday. He also urged volunteers to help with the petition drive to amend the city charter to allow medical use of marijuana in the city of Detroit. This effort needs only 4,000 signatures to secure ballot placement, and is expected to meet its goal in only one day. www.prayes.com [ Post Comment ] |
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