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| Florida Too Hot For Drug Proponents |
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Posted by FoM on April 18, 2002 at 16:17:55 PT Press Release Source: Business Wire 
Florida proved to be too hot this week for drug proponents pushing a number of drug legalization measures in the state. First, FORML (Florida Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) Freedom Fighters notified the Secretary of State's office that they were disbanding as a political action committee (PAC) and suspending further efforts to legalize marijuana use in Florida. Then, the Campaign for New Drug Policies withdrew its petition for a state ballot initiative that would have created a constitutional right to drug treatment, literacy training or family counseling instead of jail time for drug users, dealers and traffickers.
"Florida is the first and only state to organize, oppose and defeat both medical excuse marijuana and right-to-drug-treatment initiatives," announced Betty S. Sembler, president of Save Our Society From Drugs (S.O.S.). "Since we were first targeted by the well-financed drug legalization movement, we have drawn a line in the Florida sand and said `Not here. Not in Florida.' We have worked hard to defeat these measures and our efforts have paid off." Supporters of the proposed medical excuse marijuana amendment began circulating petitions in 1997, however, have only managed to file 6,129 signatures with the Secretary of State. The "right-to-drug-treatment" campaign was more organized and collected about 10-percent of the 488,722 signatures necessary before abandoning its cause this week. "This initiative was misleading and seriously weakened Florida's established anti-drug laws and legitimate drug treatment programs," said Calvina L. Fay, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, a drug education organization that monitors drug laws and policies. "While we fully support legitimate drug treatment, this measure had nothing to do with that. It provided drug offenders and felons, regardless of the drug possessed or sold or the amount possessed or sold, the right to divert from jail by electing drug treatment, literacy training or parenting instruction. Even persons with prior convictions for rape, child molestation and other violent crimes qualified for this `get-out-of-jail-free' card." This initiative was criticized by treatment professionals because it allowed individuals with no substance abuse training whatsoever to collect state funds for providing `treatment services' to drug offenders. Drug testing, a useful deterrent to drug use while in treatment, was not required. Reading books, listening to audiocassette tapes and logging in to Internet chat rooms were viable and billable treatment alternatives under this measure. "The proposed constitutional amendment failed to appreciate the extent of Florida's viable treatment system. Instead, it offered the pretense of treatment, and most likely a de facto legitimization of drug abuse," stated James R. McDonough, director of Florida's Office of Drug Control. "This was a shallow concept that would have only brought more drug abuse related problems to our state." Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit drug prevention and policy organization committed to global elimination of illegal drug use, drug addiction, drug-related illnesses and death. Contact: Drug Free America Foundation, St. Petersburg - Katherine Ford - 727/828-0211 Complete Title: Florida Too Hot For Drug Proponents, Says Drug Free America Foundation Source: Business Wire Related Articles & Web Site: Campaign for New Drug Policies Drug-Treatment Drive Dead This Year Drug Fighters Organize Opposition To Treatment Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #11 posted by dddd on April 19, 2002 at 16:55:05 PT |
| .....I am delighted to see you finally wander out of the closet!,,,or ,,I guess maybe you were pushed out of the closet by all the other people that were in there with you.... I'm glad your buttons got pushed....Welcome! ............dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by Lehder on April 19, 2002 at 04:56:42 PT |
| Another point has to do with taking the high ground in the fight for freedom. To me the
whole thing is a freedom issue....The reformer should
have that attitude of having the high ground because freedom is the hill we are defending. We should not allow ourselves to be on the defensive, and in personal confrontations with cancer and prison advocates I refuse to. They must be forced to defend their ridiculous attitudes. And why should we call them "drug warriors"? "Warrior" is too good a term for them, and I won't use it anymore. cancer advocates, prison freaks, piss freaks, pain freaks, pfreaks....they are the freaks. As in John Asscroft's song, "Let the eagle soar" - I'm sure that in his own mind he is the eagle, soaring above all others, answerable only to his private pee-freak god and not the Constitution. Eagles, warriors - I will not acknowledge such images. They need to be confronted and exposed as morally sick at every turn. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by P4me on April 18, 2002 at 22:55:00 PT |
| I just listened to that MP3 of Richard Cowan and really enjoyed it. On the subject of pulling out of Florida. So what. It is truth as conveyed over the internet that will change things. You cannot have an expert witness testify in Congress saying he puffed a phatty and turned into a bat like happenned like in 1937 with the passage of the MJ Tax Act. I am glad to see them pull out and not spend money in Florida. I hate to see NORML spend money on conglomerate media because it only supports the enemy. But it is not my money sort of as in tax money that paid for their ad. It is probably some of the best money NORML ever spent. I think it will help the moral at the NORML convention and sell lots of Tee Shirts of Bloomberg that make walking billboards of tens of thousands of people. It often occurs to me why you do not see the WOD called a cancer. I think that the term cancer is the most appropriate word to describe the WOD minus T&A and yet you very seldom see it. When the majority of Americans come to see the WOD for the cancer that it is things will change. The cancer has to be removed from the Legislature, the Executive and Jucicial Branches and what is sometimes called a constitutional safeguard -the jury system. All four are eat up with WOD minus T&A cancer and no one is calling the cancer - cancer. Another point has to do with taking the high ground in the fight for freedom. To me the whole thing is a freedom issue. One reason it is hard to change things is because of stacks of laws they throw at you as if paraphanalia is some big deal as opposed to freedom. Like the far right takes the high ground and has righteous indignation. The reformer should have that attitude of having the high ground because freedom is the hill we are defending. And how do we let people that don't smoke cannabis be the authority on cannabis theory and doctrine. Something just seems backwards in asking people that don't know anything about marijuana when there are a 100 million people in this country have used marijuana. I draw the 100 million figure from an article from Dr. Weill at the AARP.org website. If you do a search using the word marijuana it is in the first article. I was suprised to see that the AARP took a limbo position towards marijuana. It just says the jury is still out. I will be 50 by the next time Busch runs and will be a participant in their forums. I think the dam could break by then. 80% of the people asking for MMJ cannot be denies. When all the newspapers go broke and the other 20% is expose to internet truth and discussion, things will have to change. I still wonder about the absence of any polls. It seems like the Lindesmith Center would do a poll every month in at least 4 or 5 states to inform everyone about the temperature of the water. I mean not one poll in 6 months. Whatever. Don't smoke. VAAI [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #8 posted by Roger Christie on April 18, 2002 at 22:47:32 PT:
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Hey there Floridians and others, Aloha from a rainforest on the Big Island. I write to give aid and comfort to those in need of herbal or other relief. In my opinion, cannabis IS legal if you know how to articulate the free exercise of your religious enjoyment of it. Listen up... In Florida (and all the 50 states that still have the jury system) cannabis can be used 'religiously' with the right paperwork. There is a four-pronged legal test for using a controlled substance for religious purpose: 1. Sincerity 2. Legitimacy 3. Mandatory nature of the practice 4. Private use I suggest all cannabis enjoyers go immediately to the website of the Universal Life Church and become 'ordained' as ministers ... on-line ... for free. www.ulc.org. Print-out your ministry certificate right now at home. It makes you 'as legal as the Pope', according to the First Amendment and other legal decisions! Then go to my website www.thc-ministry.org and become a member of my cannabis ministry which is backed by my license from the State of Hawaii to marry people. It rocks! Membership is free to those over 18. I do suggest for full coverage and empowerment you purchase my Cannabis Sanctuary Kit for $50. It is full of legal precedents, i.d. cards, a SANCTUARY sign for your home, etc. etc. The THC Ministry paperwork has been used successfully - under arrest conditions - almost two dozen times with zero failures. Start applying the First Amendment to your practice of cannabis. Think of it as 'sacrament'. Think of your home as your cannabis church or ministry. Get some kind of a generic church-type sign for the inside of your sanctuary. It could say "Church" or SANCTUARY, or ? I'm running out of space, and you get the idea, don't you? For more questions and answers please inquire of me anytime. I love my job and you might like it, too. Cannabis Sacrament Minister has a nice ring to it ... in the middle of the delusional war on (some) drugs, especially on cannabis. We're winning incident after incident where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. We can help you, too. Love, Roger The Hawai'i Cannabis Ministry "We use cannabis religiously." www.thc-ministry.org (808) 961-0488 P.S. Eat hempseed! P.P.S. Call 1-800-tell-jury for a free Jury Power Kit. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by MikeEEEEE on April 18, 2002 at 20:34:20 PT |
| You could bet the bigots and old farts made it very hard for reform. Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit drug prevention and policy organization committed to global elimination of illegal drug use, drug addiction, drug-related illnesses and death. Hitler started by burning books, then he burned people. These bigots burn drugs, people next, who knows. We shouldn't give up Florida, but it's a war, and good soldiers know when to retreat, recover and fight another day. WE WILL WIN!!!!! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by The GCW on April 18, 2002 at 19:24:21 PT |
| Florida is the south. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by SansSuperego on April 18, 2002 at 19:07:32 PT |
| If the earth continues to heat up (which is all but inevitable), within five to ten years all of Florida will be underwater anyway. The Earth has a way of righting the wrongs caused by its inhabitants. By the way, Betty Sembler is an Earthly incarnation of evil, having been one of the founders of the fascist, child abusing Straight Inc. She and her husband, Mel, should be burned at the stake. I would celebrate to the sounds of them screaming in agony. SansSuperego [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by mayan on April 18, 2002 at 18:25:59 PT |
| If only the treatment initiative didn't need a half-million signatures to get on the ballot! That is ridiculous! Oh well,Florida's new motto can be "The Prison State"! They will reap what they sow. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by phriedphish on April 18, 2002 at 18:14:10 PT |
| After comming across this article, I've decided to finally post. I've been a long time browswer of C-News- always taking time to read all over your creative and inspiring posts, yet today my outrage at the events in my own state have finally pushed my buttons. Actually, first a little bit on Betty Sembler who is quoted in the article. "Florida is the first and only state to organize, oppose and defeat both medical excuse marijuana and right-to-drug-treatment initiatives," announced Betty S. Sembler, president of Save Our Society From Drugs (S.O.S.). "Since we were first targeted by the well-financed drug legalization movement, we have drawn a line in the Florida sand and said `Not here. Not in Florida.' We have worked hard to defeat these measures and our efforts have paid off." Mrs Sembler happens to be a long time drug "activist" in my state, and also a major major republican financer. In fact, her husband Mel has been appointed Italian ambassador. They have been involved in numerous attempts to create our fabulous "drug-free america" including the notorious Straight inc. of the 1980's, of which they were founders. Unfortunately, Mrs. Sember also happens to be "great" friends with my grandmother, and I have had the "privellige" of meeting her...at my barmitzvah...where she almost passed-out from drinking too much. Although the south portion of Florida (Miami, Ft Lauderdale, and Palm Beach) is much more liberal and populated- the north (aka the bible belt) has controlled the state for years. Thus we have another baby bush running things up in Talahassee. We were also one of the first states to acutally have a drug czar. I was really looking forward to the proposed ammendments to the consitution, of which I would be able to vote for, for the first time (since I'm now 18). But, of course, they were destroyed by the notorious republican religious majority that control Florida. Either way, things look like crap for Florida now. I'll be posting regularly now that i'm "out of the closet". Everyone have a safe and relaxing 420- I know I will. -phriedphish [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by DdC on April 18, 2002 at 17:26:07 PT |
| "Another weapon I discovered early was the power of the printed word to sway souls to me. The newspaper was soon my gun, my flag - a thing with a soul that could mirror my own." Adolph Hitler "You know, it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob? "Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise." American High Society American High Society Stepping Off Hard Drugs With Cannabis “If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marihuana he would drop dead of fright.” A Roundup of Hearst’s/Nalepka Hysterical Headlines I wish I could show you what a small marihuana cigaret can do to one of our degenerate Spanish-speaking residents. That's why our problem is so great; the greatest percentage of our population is composed of Spanish-speaking persons, most of who are low mentally, because of social and racial conditions. "A violently active, intrepid, brutal youth that is what I am after... Assassins of Youth Anslinger read into U.S. Congressional testimony (without objection) stories about ‘coloreds’ with big lips, luring white women with jazz music and marijuana. Bigotry and Aparteid "Marihuana Makes Fiends of Boys in 30 Days; Hasheesh Goads Users to Blood-Lust" create terror of the "killer weed from Mexico." Through his relentless disinformation campaign, Hearst is credited with bringing the word "marijuana" into the English language. In addition to fueling racist attitudes toward Hispanics, Hearst papers run articles about "marijuana-crazed negroes" raping white women and playing "voodoo-satanic" jazz music. Self Perpetuating Lies Anslinger read an account of two “Negro” students at the University of Minnesota doing this to a white coed “with the result of pregnancy.” The Congressmen of 1937 gasped at this and at the fact that this drug seemingly caused white women to touch or even look at a “Negro.” DARE the FRCn Chemical Partnerships! Missing Nixon tapes Klintoon thought it would "Flout" Congress too. Watch out for flouters Joycy, it sounds pretty bad... There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others." "... the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races." "Marihuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death." "You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother." "marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." President Ronald Reagan, at the urging of then Vice President George Bush, appointed Carlton Turner as the White House Drug (czar) Advisor in 1981. ACS - Division of Analytical Chemistry - DAC Awards The Elkhorn Manifesto [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on April 18, 2002 at 16:44:12 PT |
| Florida proved to be too hot this week for drug proponents pushing a number of drug legalization measures in the state. Equating being a drug reformer with being a drug proponent is not something you do when you're interesting in promoting a civil society with democratic rule. It's something you do as a polite way of donning a brown shirt. I want to buy them a bunch of brown shirts and have their logo embroidered on them and see whether they're even educated enough to get it. [ Post Comment ] |
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