The DEA lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical uses. However, marijuana is unique on the Schedule I roster-which also includes cocaine, LSD, and MDMA (Ecstasy)-as the only substance that is not available from multiple independent producers for clinical research purposes.

``There are two issues here: quality and access," says Rick Doblin, the Belmont-based founder and president of the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which is sponsoring Craker's suit against the DEA. The government holds that its Mississippi operation obviates the need for a second crop. Craker and MAPS counter that NIDA cultivates a product of poor quality and does not make it readily available to qualified researchers, and point to NIDA's previous refusals to supply cannabis to two scientists with FDA-approved protocols as grounds for establishing an independent facility.

On April 20, the Food and Drug Administration released a controversial statement declaring that marijuana ``has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." The outcome of Craker's case-especially if it reaches federal court, as is likely-could realign the terms of the national debate over medical marijuana. For now, the suit, which has the expressed support of Senators Edward Kenedy and John Kerry, as well as 38 members of the House of Representatives, is in the hands of DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner, who's expected to make her recommendation to the agency on the application sometime this summer. Final briefs were filed on May 8.

There is abundant anecdotal evidence and personal testimony to support myriad uses of cannabis to treat symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other ailments. As the FDA reiterated in its statement, however, scant clinical evidence exists to back these claims-or, for that matter, to contradict them. Paradoxically, the controls on official research of cannabis in America undermine both the medical-marijuana movement's efforts to prove the drug's benefits and the government's assertions of its dangers. Strangely enough, the case for pharmaceutical cannabis may, in the end, come down to good gardening-and may depend on whether the government is willing to give up its monopoly on marijuana.

Cannabis sativa was once widely recommended by American physicians as a mild sedative, much as the popular herbal treatments valerian and camomile are used today. By 1937, however, the drug had been effectively outlawed by the Marihuana Tax Act. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics had aggressively pursued this ban with Congress, and cited marijuana's perceived popularity as a smoked narcotic among Mexican farm laborers, hysterical tabloid reports on its deranging effects, and results from tests on canine subjects.

Punishments for pot-related offenses remained light into the 1980s, and President Carter favored decriminalization. It wasn't until the War on Drugs gathered momentum midway through the Reagan administration that penalties became fearsome enough to drive marijuana growers indoors-which, it turned out, was the best possible place for a cannabis plant to thrive. In ``The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World" (2001), author Michael Pollan has an epiphany while visiting a ``grow room" run by an acquaintance. ``[I]t dawned on me," he writes, ``that this was what the best gardeners of my generation had been doing all these years: They had been underground, perfecting cannabis."

From the standpoint of both the scientist and the connoisseur, perfect cannabis can be achieved with unseeded, genetically identical female plants. The original crop is harvested from seeds, and subsequent generations are bred from cuttings. Characterized by the ``buds" from which marijuana derives one of its many slang names, these virgin female plants carry high levels of molecules unique to the cannabis plant, called cannabinoids. The two most well-understood cannabinoids are THC and CBD, which many physicians and patients believe can alleviate nausea, stimulate appetite, ease pain and anxiety, and lessen the muscle stiffness and spasms associated with MS.

In the UK, the GW Pharmaceuticals company has a government license to grow cannabis under highly regulated conditions. At a secret location in southern England, in greenhouses that are computer-controlled for temperature, humidity, and light, the GW research team has compiled a veritable library of plant strains, with precisely determined ratios of cannabinoid content.

The upshot is Sativex, a liquid extract of equal parts THC and CBD that is sprayed under the tongue to treat neuropathic pain. Britain permits the use of Sativex in MS patients, and the drug has been approved for marketing in Canada. Cannabinoids also have a presence on the US market, in the recently approved Cesamet, a synthetic cannabinoid, and in Marinol, a THC extract in pill form that the FDA approved back in 1985. But Marinol contains no CBD, and ingested THC is metabolized differently from smoked marijuana-the palliative effects take much longer to kick in, and the psychoactive effects are far stronger.

Craker's intentions for a Massachusetts site are similar to the GW template: an indoor facility housing female clones, with strains made to order for researchers according to exact cannabinoid content. In contrast to the methods practiced by GW and by America's outlaw gardeners, however, NIDA grows the majority of its marijuana outdoors, under conditions that result in unwanted pollination and, according to some users, a harsh product. The Institute harvested its most recent marijuana crop in Mississippi in 2002, and stockpiled the supply in vaults and freezers. Cannabinoid content of NIDA pot is highly variable, and a THC potency of 6 to 8 percent is about as high as researchers can hope for. By contrast, Canada distributes medical marijuana to patients at 12.5 percent, and medical marijuana in the Netherlands ranges from 13 to 18 percent potency.

``I've spoken to patients who have used [NIDA marijuana], and they've said it's everything from worthless to other descriptions I should not use," Craker says. ``The patient has to smoke one cigarette after the other to get any effective relief from pain." Ethan Russo, a neurologist and now a senior medical adviser to GW Pharmaceuticals, conducted patient studies with NIDA marijuana and reported, ``A close inspection of the contents of NIDA-supplied cannabis cigarettes reveals them to be a crude mixture of leaf with abundant stem and seed components.. . .The resultant smoke is thick, acrid, and pervasive."

Then again, it's not in NIDA's job description-or even, perhaps, in NIDA's interests-to grow a world-class marijuana crop. The institute's director, Nora Volkow, has stressed that it's ``not NIDA's mission to study the medicinal use of marijuana or to advocate for the establishment of facilities to support this research." Since NIDA's stated mission ``is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction," federally supported marijuana research will logically tilt toward the potential harms, not benefits, of cannabis.

Under these circumstances, evidence in support of medical marijuana tends to materialize as a byproduct, not a primary goal, of official research. For example, Donald Tashkin of UCLA intended to demonstrate via a NIDA-supported study that marijuana smoke increases the risk of lung and upper-airways cancer. But the findings of the study, announced this past week, indicate that heavy marijuana smokers actually show lower cancer rates than tobacco smokers, indirectly supporting claims by medical-marijuana proponents for the tumor-inhibiting properties of cannabinoids.

At the moment, federal law prohibits pot cultivation even in those states (11 at last count) that have passed medical-marijuana referenda. In 1996, Californians voted in favor of the Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215, which permitted the use and cultivation of marijuana by qualified patients. According to the act, patients with a referral from a physician can obtain medical marijuana from one of some 200 dispensaries or ``buyers' clubs," which procure their high-grade stock from tucked-away farms and discreet greenhouses. Despite the ever present threat of a crackdown from the federal government, these companies are thriving-some clubs even offer their employees healthcare benefits and 401(k) plans-and have created a market for medical marijuana.

``For evidence in support of the healthy competition fostered by a marketplace economy, you need only to look at the quality of marijuana available in California," says Mark Blumenthal, who directs the nonprofit American Botanical Council of Austin, Texas. ``Pluralism and economic competition are good for the consumer. We generally don't allow and empower monopolies in our culture-it's contrary to the tenets of our economic system."

The invocation of a government monopoly on marijuana helps to explain the strange bedfellows on the pro-cannabis side of this issue. The conservative historian Richard Brookhiser and the late Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger both spoke out in favor of medical marijuana, and supporters of Craker's suit against the DEA include not only several nurses' associations and the United Methodist Church but Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a staunch defender of small government and an unfettered free market.

``The use of controlled substances for legitimate research purposes is well-established, and has yielded a number of miracle medicines widely available to patients and doctors," Norquist wrote in his letter of support. ``This case should be no different. It's in the public interest to end the government monopoly on marijuana legal for research."

Given Norquist's many successes on the lobbying circuit, perhaps all medical marijuana needs is a new pitch man.

Jessica Winter is a freelance journalist in New York. She writes for The Village Voice, the Guardian (UK), Time Out London, and other publications.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Author: Jessica Winter
Published: May 28, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: letter@globe.com
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/

Related Articles & Web Site:

MAPS
http://www.maps.org/

FDA's Weed War
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21818.shtml

http://wordpress.org/

Less cerebral, more funny. I like it.

Not as good for coherent posts though.

I hope my wife feels better.

Here's the Parkinson's link:

CNews article on Cannabis and Parkinson's (same text as the source I found, but it's been discussed here):

http://www.cannabisnews.com/search/

You can set it to bring more up articles on a particular search word. We can search CNews using my web site:

http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/

I often search thru the archives that can be accessed by clicking the icon in each article. I wasn't sure if you knew this stuff.

Marijuana Ingredient May Help Alzheimer's: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20276.shtml

I did a few good articles about "neurogenesis", the production of new brain cells, which is greatly encouraged by strong cannabinoids, such as HU 210 (from Canadian rats that were cured from anxiety and depression, recall from last November). The astounding thing is, from "Seed Magazine" Feb-Mar issue, 2006, a guy from NeuroNova (Sweden) has found a "clandestine" drug that was able to cure a rat of Parkinson's disease in 5 weeks-from neurogenesis. He stated that the drug has NO TOXICITY and has already been approved for use in humans in "unrelated conditions" meaning that human trials will begin rapidly.

Hmmm. Anybody know any drugs with "no toxicity"? I'm betting it is MARINOL, the very drug produced in Illinios, which is why the Illinois MM bill was left on the books through the dark ages after Reagan's storm troopers stopped the treatment with cannabis program in Illinois which was active from at least 1978-1984. Marinol, the very drug that caused me to lose my law license, because I had DEA support to produce a green pill in 2001. Because I lobbied the asshole governor Ryan for his support, his drug company king-pin friends at Abbott Labs squashed me like a bug-they didn't want anybody competing with Marinol, produced by "Unimed", now by some other company.

That, in my opinion, is why the guy won't divulge the name of his "clandestine" drug that will cure Parkinson's. Because he won't get anywhere fast, if people learn that it is good old THC in a pill.

And back to the concept of "neurogenesis". It stops when people are placed in cages like dogs. That is why early scientists couldn't find any evidence in monkeys to support the theory. They had the monkeys living in cages like criminals. Anxiety & depression stop brains from evolving. Taking away cannabis stops brains from evolving.

And by the way, last month, a pedestrian in my home town was stopped on what they call a "pedestrian check". At 2 pm in the afternoon. No probable cause, in my opinion. That is why they called it a "pedestrian check". Because they found pot in his pockets, of course no one will argue for him, because the ends justified the means. That means, of course, that he is now in a cage, being deprived of his medicine, which was probably relieving some anxiety or depression. I have done a long editorial for both papers in town. Maybe the TV guys will cover that story as well (I hope).

[ http://www.calvoter.org/voter/elections/archive/2000/-general/propositions/topten.html#36 ]remove hyphen for original link.

"Hateful, deceiving, greedy, conniving, controling, abusive low lives is what I perceive them and their "crew" as.

They and their "crew" have been and are "without mercy".

Wonder what's going to become of them?

I don't want to be standing beside any of them when it all finally comes down.

Pray for them? Oooooh my. That's hard. It can be done, though.

My hat is eternally off to you for running a class act website.

That....is priceless. ;)

here will never be, another one like you

There will never be, another one who can

Do the things you do, oh

Will you give another chance? , will you try, little try?

Please stop and you remember,

We were together, anyway, all right

And if you have a certain evenin, you could lend to me

Id give it all right back to you, a how it has to be with

you

I know your moves and your mind

And your mind ...

--- Jim Morrison

rest @ http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/doors/shamans+blues_20042753.html

Thanks to FoM and Stick for your hospitality. Mrs. Whig and I had a great time visiting and it was nice to get to know you in person. Since I found out you're paying a monthly hosting fee for CNews I'd really like to make a donation to help, but I want to make sure I do it the right way so it gets to you.

Can Filll

Our Souls

'We can change

This World,

Judas

Are you alive

Have you found a place yet

wonder

why change

is difficult,

Your 'clay foot

Has been forgiven,

Your bad foot,

Is Kith and Kin,

Your Attention

May be costly,

..

Old Jesus,

Is currently hanging on that cross,

It is a few hours,

When a 'new day awakens'

They were drunk on alcohol,

Art and humans

They knew better..?

I is their children,

Here I am,

That old 'boomer,

Who looks to Law

And Bargained Agreements,

For the last wars that promised,

That promised an end to wars,

I am paying my taxes"

It is time to collect on those promises,

Written by Lew Brown, Charles Tobias and Sam H. Stept

Lyrics as recorded in New York City on February 18, 1942 by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor).

{male vocals} Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Till I come marchin' home

Don't go walkin' down Lover's Lane with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Don't go walkin' down Lover's Lane with anyone else but me Till I come marchin' home

I just got word from a guy who heard from the guy next door to me The girl he met just loves to pet and it fits you to-a-tee So, don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Till I come marchin' home

{female vocals} Don't give out with those lips of yours to anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Watch the girls on the foreign shores, you'll have to report to me When you come marchin' home

Don't hold anyone on your knee, you better be true to me You better be true to me, you better be true to me Don't hold anyone on your knee, you're gettin' the third degree When you come marchin' home

You're on your own where there is no phone and I can't keep tab on you Be fair to me, I'll guarantee this is one thing that I'll do I won't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but you Till you come marchin' home

Right here in River City.

Actually I am now resolved to cranberries. Personally I like a mixture - crangrape. I have a problem or two with the 'health food industry' their reliabilty is just slightly better than M.D.s

I am "all better" now, or at least I am back to my usual pain management routine.

He didn't seem to just be sharing...but lecturing. That can come from zealousness. His apparent zeal in ending cannabis prohibition is admirable.

One needs to learn to try to recognize and control the tendency to lecture adults as though they were children.

Ready?

:0)

Now, we ARE going to get together and make fun of you, but that's another story. LOL

- I agreed with the removal of Saddam Hussein as far back as 1991, although I believe a coalition government in Iraq will only lead to civil war and that our ongoing meddling has caused our own terrorism problem

- I don't believe Bush is as big a problem for America as the federal legislature and federal law enforcement and intelligence community, and voters who continue to vote for handouts, entitlements, and Politically Correct activism measures

- I believe there is nothing wrong with using cannabis for fun and relaxation (for greater appreciation of food, music and sex) without bringing in any sort of spiritual or political implications

Get well. Invest in a case or two of good bottled water. By a bottle of cranberry juice concentrate at the Health Food store. (expensive but less than 20 dollars and lasts a very long time and it RELIEVES and HEALS. For twenty bucks...no side effects...I'll take it. I do. It is VERY concentrated.)

Color the water with as much of the cranberry concentrate as you can bear. (Start with a teaspoon and reduce from there!.

Sweeten it if you like.

Keep the cranberry red bottled water, mixed fresh each time, at hand. Drink five or six throughout the day for a couple of weeks.

If you can brew up a little green tea concentrate to flavor that with as well...you got you a very healing and healthy drink there.

Cranberries clean up the urinary tract beautifully. I suspect they may clean other vessels of flesh a bit throughout the body as well.

Juniper berries (Sloe Gin?) are good for the urinary tract, too. Anti-bacterial, I believe.

I have to say that the evidence seems to be rather damning in reference to msimon. FoM, it was your call, and after all the direct and clear questions that were asked, I don't believe there were any clear answers to those questions by msimon. (I just wish I'd been here darn it!)

If one is engaged in a discussion, disagreement is expected, yet actual communication must be accomplished at some point, or the discussion is a mere argument of vanities.

Dissention is a healthy thing, but division is not. Particularly in our case; a solidarity when it comes to the draconian power regime that instituted, legislated, enforced, and perpetuates the prohibition of marijuana.

We have our days too, when this or that event clouds our opinion and perception with emotion or pain.

Some days the world just doesn't look that good. I oughta know, some days the tint or angle of my vision can even cause me to hallucinate that these fools are actually going to get away with the outrage.

And then some days I can see solid truths that I could not discuss with my peers, being taken and embraced, and built upon my this new generation, the sun shines for a moment without burning, and rays of actual hope touch the earth.

It's an ebb and flow.

Just recovered from intense bout with a kidney infection which landed me in the hospital. First day without that pain in a week.

Pain can color your thinking. Pain takes you down to some primal levels.

That means all of you.

I heard a funny commercial today. It ended by saying it would ",,,make you happy as a tick on a fat dog."

Sometimes I respond to things just because I think it's worth clarifying for others that are reading. We aren't just having a private conversation, this is a public forum and we're really writing to everyone while acting as sort of conversational foils for one another to help us each make our points more clearly. At least that's how I look at it.

I mean, I knew it was good, and seemed very beneficial to me personally, as well as other people I know who have used it...but I didn't expect all this.

It's truly amazing.

Thank you, everyone responsible for this research and this news.

Or something to that effect.

I'm probably wrong...but I think a little bit differently. I try to think, remember, and hope, that no matter what happens, "All things work to the good of them that love God."

Anti-tumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/reprint/jpet.106.105247v1.pdf

We as a society have a lot of physical illness, but we also have a lot of mental illness. Violence and war and hatred are all symptoms of mental illness. Cannabis will help to cure this.

We want cannabis to be free because we want people to stop hurting, to stop feeling pain and to stop inflicting pain.

If anyone thinks we're doing this just because we think it's fun to smoke pot, they do not understand that we sacrifice a great deal for this, and that is not something people do for fun. If we were only concerned with that we wouldn't need to be advocates. We wouldn't put ourselves out in this way, and invest so much of our time and energy and thoughts and emotions and efforts when we could just be relaxing. What we do here isn't always fun, but it is important.

Cannabis brings us peace. Cannabis brings us closer to God. Cannabis makes us better people. Cannabis can help a lot of people that don't yet know that it can help them. People suffer needlessly for lack of knowledge.

But for someone to say, cannabis issues are exclusive of all the reasons we want it to be free, does not make the slightest sense to me. It is as if to say, cannabis should be free but we do not care if people are hurt and suffer. But we are trying to end hurt and suffering. That's the whole point.

At least that's how I see it. If this seems like a hidden agenda, well I wonder what motivates those who disagree with what I'm saying.

I can go to any number of web sites and put up with posters like M Simon, but I don't because their rantings make me sick.

Cannabisnews.com has managed to stay pure, for the most part self-purging when it came to those who just want to destroy the vibe.

Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. The powers that be are trying to infiltrate the peace movements in order to destroy them from within. M Simon was their poster child.

He admitted he was a neo-con bush supporter, he's pro-murder and anti-peace.

When we questioned his insane diatribe, he responded back with:

http://cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21820.shtml

That Sound that will be "Heard,

Around this 'world,

The Gentle Hand

Is Demanding,

Much Less Violence,

More Understanding,

A More Better World,

We can defile

Our 'footprints,

In this world

In 'this time

In front of 'human passion,

Cast your Vote,

If you can do this,

Where you live on this planet,

Breathe deep,

Enjoy your place,

It is you

Who Lives and Breathes,

In 'This Place,

"Maybe Iraq is just a training ground for our soldiers to prepare for the lockdown of the U.S.?

"I know most will only find jobs in the security guard/ prison industrial complex, so this is great training for them isn't it."

Maybe we should start Veterans' Enterprises to engage them in some useful work helping to invent the future: hemp fuels and food, medical cannabis PTSD relief, paper-making, clothing, counselling, and more. I know that many here do not have abundant funds, but maybe we could get support of George Soros, Peter Lewis, and/or John Sperling. Surely, such a task would be more beneficial than letting the returning soldiers get sucked into the maw of the prison industrial complex, or neglected wounded unemployed and under-medicated.

can you smell disease,

Catch that drift,

It is in the wind,

That is experiencing,

Convulsions,

Such sickness,

That judges , lawyers,

Stand in the way, in front of God,

In comment #42 it stated.

over our heads

the new spring is arising,

the new days 'morn

twinkle,

Violence, it seems this posters belief is an understanding of addiction, based on some traumatic experiences of youthful growth, some trauma, some violent experience, and many have been at the the hand of youthful and ignorant and violent parents, and friends,

If 'we are ever to understand this place,

May 'we come to this discussion,

With the gentle hand of understanding,

Understanding

I would suggest changing the site name to Cannabis and Peace News if pro-war views from otherwise pro-cannabis folk are to be considered trolls and banned, while anti-war views are encouraged. That is the definition of a hidden agenda.

Now this bitter old fool msimon, proclaims his bitterness, and will try to squash liberals and democrats, he has my ok, bigger government, more laws, more taxes, if this is what you all want, then so let your children heft up that heavy burden, for many generations to come,

These facts bear themselves out when it is consumed with respect.

'Everybodys' smoking, but noones' getting high!' J.Lennon

That line explains War supporting Cannabis users, for me at least!

And M.Simon has a blog, that you can go to if you like his pro-bushness. We all respect FOMs' decisions, even when we disagree, she's usually 'spot-on', IMHO.

FOM, I'm sure you meant to say you ARE the proud owner of the New D-Chicks CD, (you said 'not' inadvertently, I believe). Congratulations!

Mine is on the way!

P.S. Now that the Chicks are obviously headed for Victory in the Media 'framing' war, (since they abandoned Country Radio for the larger Rock audience, w/people like those here and myself, who grew up on the soft rock/country Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Willie Nelson, the Byrds, New Riders of the Purple Sage. Even the Stones made Country safe and likable with 'the girl with far-away eyes').

All music likely written with the help and inspiration of high quality cannabis, especially 'Panama Red'!

Now that the Dixie chicks are gracing Larry King, will he put them on the defensive, with stupid questions or will he embrace their heroic actions, and show his support for what Americans should ALL be doing, speaking out against killing people for profit world-wide! Don't forget, the Bushes are big in the Mortuary Biz, something you WON'T hear about! He is the 'death star' isn't he.

Cool!

Natalie Maines was born on the Libra/Aries Full Moon, with five additional planets in Libra! Wow! She's bigger than big! Conscious, as Full Mooners are, and Libra is the sign of Jimmy Carter and Ghandi, the peacemakers! No surprise there!

Forget sell-out Hillary the reptilian, it should be Natalie, or Stephen Colbert, they have what some Americans' like Timothy Leary, Lenny Bruce and Abbie Hoffman used to be famous for, speaking truth to Power!

Basically, the Chicks fired country Radio, and hired Rock radio, though you won't hear that said anywhere.

I base that on the fact the the Dixie Chicks ARE and WERE the biggest selling Country act EVER. What were they thinking, GW would buy all Toby Keiths' cds?

And now, their gone! Off to the Rock n' roll Hall of Fame!

Unless Country gets rid of the RedNeck/beer-swilling image they adopted to get bush supporters fired up about 'Mexicans, gays, and Iraqis', or so it seems, this is a huge setback for this segment of radio. Is that a bad thing?

The solution for Country Radio, Rock radio will give you FREE....Kid Rock, bushes biggest fan!!! HA!

(I'm trying to imagine him performing country/rap/rock, someones gotta do it, why not him!)

I can see it now, Kid Rock, the new Merle Haggard! (even he's seen the light, people change!_

I'm not sure what your point is, whig. If you are just adding additional facts, thank you. I knew BZP was banned in the US. The article is from UK, where BZP is apparently still legal. I am not promoting any of the substances mentioned.

Today, the Court took that very signifiant step, holding that "when public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline." This apparently means that employees may be disciplined for their official capacity speech, without any First Amendment scrutiny, and without regard to whether it touches on matters of "public concern" -- a very significant doctrinal development.

Agreed. I would have deleted the off topic posts just like any other off topic posts get deleted. We all have agendas. At least half of his posts were on-topic and I believe he is being misunderstood. Because he is for ending drug prohibition does not make him any less useful to ending cannabis prohibition. That's like saying that a lot of people who want to legalize cannabis for medical use want cannabis legalized period, and so if you don't support legal cannabis you had better not support medical cannabis. Same with a drug legalizer supporting cannabis legalization. I don't follow that line of thinking.

May 30, 2006

During the private inaugural party at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2000, President George W Bush glanced across the room and recognised a man who - by his own account - has urinated on a nun, soiled his trousers for a week in order to avoid the draft, and been detained on a charge of indecent exposure, after experiencing difficulties with his loincloth in Little Rock, Arkansas. The President confronted him as a matter of urgency.

"When he noticed me," Ted Nugent recalls, "he was surrounded by these huge bankrollers from his campaign. He literally swept past all of them and said: 'Laura! Look who's here! It's Ted!' Then he hugged me and took me by the shoulders. He said: 'Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't think that we don't know what you're up to out here. Stay on course. You're doing great.'"

Like Jesus, Gandhi or Hitler, Nugent tends to inspire this kind of extreme reaction. He rarely gives interviews to the British press; the last time he did, some years ago, he managed what is possibly the most extraordinary achievement of his remarkable career - proving too right-wing for the Daily Telegraph.

May 29, 2006

Excerpt: Among Williams's interests, at least in the past, was marijuana. In 2004, it was a positive test that led to a four-game suspension and preceded his decision to walk away from the NFL. Pot, he said, was how he tried to fill the void in his life at that point.

"When I retired, one of the first things I did was go to California and get a prescription for medicinal marijuana," he said.

How did he get that?

"My medical file for the NFL was like this," he said, separating his thumb and index fingers about four inches apart. "So it wasn't hard. I don't think I've ever told anyone that before."

His most recent positive test this off-season, for an undisclosed substance, landed him a one-year suspension and, ultimately, a trip to Canada.

As has been well publicized by his new employers, Williams, 29, said he doesn't need or use marijuana. And in Toronto, he sees the chance to expand his happiness on a team that seeks to do good, under the guidance of head coach Michael Clemons, who he believes might be the male role model who has been missing from his life.

For those interested, James Gang rides again this summer.

Excerpts: {DALLAS - Two students have been charged with giving a high school's employees marijuana-spiked muffins in a senior prank that sent 18 people to the hospital and triggered an FBI and terrorism investigation.}

{Most of those sickened were quickly treated and released, but Rita Greenfield, an 86-year-old receptionist, spent two days in the hospital. "They were just thinking it would be fun to get these teachers all silly and giggly," Greenfield said. "I do not think of this as a prank at all. It has caused heartaches and hard feelings."}

These students violated one of the basic Commandments of the Molecular Age: "Thou shalt not alter the consciousness of thy fellow man." Real drug education would teach this to students.

"The Two Commandments for the Molecular Age

"I

"Thou shalt not alter the consciousness of thy fellow man.

"II

"Thou shalt not prevent thy fellow man from altering his own consciousness."

Excerpt: {He said the aroma of their product spilled out of the "club."}

"Welcome to the Hotel California" --The Eagles.

Go Dennis Perron and the Compassionate Use Act.

"Rocky Mountain Way is better than the way we had." --Joe Walsh http://www.nysse.com/jw/lyrics/Rocky%20Mountain%20Way.html

Go Mason Tvert and SAFER.

"The West is the Best." --The Doors.

Forgive me...but I'm about to give it up for tonight.

Forgiving also ...for dang sure...doesn't always mean "trusting".

If I can, I will avoid the forgiven, yet untrusted...if it's serious, from then on.

I'll just try not to harbor feelings that hurt me, by letting it go...and forgiving. But that doesn't mean I trust them or like them or want to give them another chance to do a number on me.

I do forget many, if not most perceived offenses...except the ones that are truly a danger to me or anyone else.

Forgiveness is self protective. Forgiveness, to me, just means I'm finally able to lay down the anger and will try very hard,not to pick it up again.

My concept of forgiveness may not be what other's are. Mostly it more or less means, I give up the anger and won't allow myself to slip into the murky water of hatred.

I think what you mean by forgiveness is a little different from what I do, and so maybe we're talking a little bit past one another.

You can forgive a slight that is done to you without it being asked. But the person who did it hasn't been forgiven in a larger sense, because his or her conscience cannot be clean of it. Nothing is forgotten and all is remembered by God, and each of us will be reminded of what we have done.

Timothy Leary

This guy was as trippy as they get. A very unusual man, down to the very last minute of his life, when he wanted to broadcast his death over the internet, and have his ashes blasted out into space.

I had the opportunity to meet him once, when I was working in a theater in Detroit. He was doing a tour as a "stand up philosopher." Before they booked him, my bosses asked me if I would pay to see him. Not having the vaguest idea who he was (this was 1980, and I was only 17), I bluffed it because he was mentioned in Hair, and I’d heard of him. Anyway, they booked it, and only about a dozen people even showed up.

Before the show, I was taking tickets at the box office, and a gentleman came in. I asked for his ticket, and was swiftly kicked by a co-worker, who hissed, "That’s Hiiiiiiiim!" Whoops. Anyway, he was nice, and I showed him to the dressing room. I also will add that he requested David Bowie music to be playing at the time. I don’t know why he didn’t have his own, but I had to borrow my sisters Ziggy Stardust tape, and bring it in with me that day.

I sat in the back of the theatre while he had a slide show of certain drugs he and his wife would take on occasion. Personally, I thought he was out of his mind. But then this guy who was in the audience, approached the stage. Leary was nervous – as the guy looked nuts. Big overcoat, long hair, sunglasses and walking unsteadily. He handed Leary a gift. When Leary questioned what it was, he replied, "A bottle with a hole blown in the side." Leary was amused, and accepted it graciously.

After the show, I went backstage, and being the ever fame hag I am, I asked him to sign my poster for the event, which he did. The end. That’s my Timothy Leary story. I should add that Leary’s lecture made the front pages of the local papers the next day. Too bad he couldn’t get the publicity beforehand.

Leary lived in Benedict Canyon, in a modest ranch style home. Wanna see his mailbox? Course you do. In 1995, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. I was speaking to Rocky Horror actor Barry Bostwick a couple of weeks ago. As I do. He had prostate cancer, and was cured. However, he still goes in for checkups all the time, and could not emphasize enough – the importance of getting checked. Especially men in their early 40’s. So take it from Brad, do it guys.

Timothy’s god daughter was shoplifter Winona Ryder. She supposedly moved in with him a couple of weeks before he died. It is said that she loved him deeply, and the two were very close.

On May 31, 1996 - Leary was in bed, and he suddenly sat up and asked, "Why not? Why not? Why not? It was 12:44am, and the 75 year old died. About 20 friends, his stepson Zach, and his ex-wife Rosemary Woodruff Leary were with him. Timothy made sure that the entire event was videotaped.

The informant was Donna Scott – Leary's executrix. I love that word. Hi, I’m Trixie, the executrix.

Upon hearing of his death, known jerk Art Linkletter said, "You could only call it ‘what goes around, comes around.’ Yeah, Leary really got what was coming to him. He celebrated life, lived to a healthy age, and was supposedly a great guy to hang around with. Art however, is a bitter twisted man, who wants to dictate how the world should behave. I'm really sorry his daughter jumped out the window - but if she didn't, Divine might never have become the fab actor he was. (one of Divine's first films for John Waters was The Diane Linkletter Story.) I hate Art Linkletter.

Two days before Timothy died, he was approved for his final trip. A portion of his ashes would be shot into space, orbit the earth, then burn up upon reentry of the earths atmosphere. Findadeath.com friend Roger Sinclair provided me with this exclusive photograph of Leary’s tiny urn. I don’t know what happened to the rest of him. The space thing cost him $4,800 – and you too can have the same fun – if you go here.

Trivia: Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had his ashes go out on the same flight.

Trivia: How about those noisy neighbors?! Sharon Tate lived just above the cul de sac (cul means ass in Italian – and cul de sac means ass end of the street)

Trivia: Molly Ringwald hates Winona Ryder. She claims Winona robbed her of her career. Personally, when I met Molly, I thought she was a skank.

Added March 6 2002: Rosemary Woodruff Leary, third wife of counterculture icon Timothy Leary, died Thursday February 7, 2002 of congestive heart failure. She was 66.

She met Timothy Leary at an art exhibition opening in New York City in 1965. She was working as a model at the time.

The couple married in 1967, and were arrested repeatedly for marijuana possession.

Timothy Leary was sent to a state prison in San Luis Obispo County in 1970, but his wife and others helped him escape. The two fled the country to Algeria, then to Switzerland.

They separated in 1971, and two years later Timothy Leary was caught trying to enter Afghanistan and was returned to the United States. He was released from prison in 1976, the year the two divorced.

Rosemary Leary stayed underground, living in Afghanistan, Sicily and Central and South America. She sneaked back into the United States in 1980 and lived under the name Sarah Woodruff.

In 1993, she had her record cleared of fugitive charges.

She wrote free-lance articles and managed the trust that administered her ex-husband's copyrights and archives. She also lectured college students about the psychedelic era.

Timothy Leary died in 1996. Rosemary Leary was working on a final draft of her memoirs when she died.

I remember your saying something like that the other day. I disagree. I've done it plenty of times and likely will have to again.

In those cases, the forgiving of them is for my own good, even if they never know it or care about it.

http://tinyurl.com/qwf3a

1. Petitioner's invocation of the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment provided a full defense to the charge.

It's so wonderful that Barthwell's audience stood up to her and called her out. It gives me hope that the people are just "not going to take it" anymore.

People are sick of Barthwell and all of the other prohibitionists.

It's.....heart warming.

In that, I mean we all have (IMHO) a slightly different view on cannabis news AND cannabis (rec or med) usage by responsible adults.

When the name of the site you run, which I love btw (hope you know that by now...!;)), is called cannabisNEWS -- it's not for personal, narrow minded, contridictory, intentionally-agitating posters so when such as M crops up, he is dealt with swiftly & accordinglly because he crossed the line but everyone's line is different -- thats the only reason it may have been a little premature but yeah, I do see your point I just like spice & sparks to flare up so we all eventually keep our eyes on the prize:

REGULATION OF WHOLE RAW CANNABIS TO THOSE 18+ SIMILAR TO ALCOHOL (which kills, yet one can buy 100 gal.'s of vodka, no problem) & TOBACCO, WHICH MOST RECENT STUDIES SHOW IT VERY DEFINITELY CAUSES CANCER, WHILST CANNABIS SMOKERS ARE NO MORE RISK THAN AVG PEOPLE

LEGAL INDUSTRIAL HEMP THROUGHOUT THE USA FOR AUTO FUEL, TEXTILES, ROPE, INSULATION, ANIMAL FOOD, ETC (THERE ARE 10,000+)

I'd like to just say to M - bye - go support Bush and be as happy as you can be.

And if you can, go here :

http://www.electricemperor.com/enter/how.html

That should wake you up, if not, keep on being you, for really, we are all snowflakes - some just flaky-er than others..;)

That's the thing we're often missing in our understanding of how it works. We can forgive and move on, almost immediately, if someone comes to us and says, I did this and I was wrong and I'm truly sorry. The specific words aren't what matters. The genuine intent, the honest admission, the resolution that it was wrong and it should not be done and will not be done again.

This is true confession. To not forgive then, would be wrong itself. Everyone does things they shouldn't. We are not perfect, but we can always strive for perfectability.

Anyhow, I'm rambling a bit, but my point is really that forgiveness is a misplaced idea when people are engaged in deliberate harm. Some day they will have to ask Jerry's forgiveness, and I know he will forgive them in an instant if they would but honestly ask.

Whig, you said, "Let's not forget one of Leary's singular accomplishments, by the way. He went all the way to the US Supreme Court to overturn cannabis prohibition. And he won!"

I get some great toothpaste from India. Bye-bye Colgate! I sometimes window-shop at Wal-Mart or The Source just to get ideas. Then, I go looking for another outlet that carries the same goods.

The "most dangerous man in America"?

Let's not forget one of Leary's singular accomplishments, by the way. He went all the way to the US Supreme Court to overturn cannabis prohibition. And he won!

Then they passed a new law, the odious CSA.

I'm all for forgiveness, but the Semblers, Miller Newton, and the rest of their bunch sure don't seem to deserve it....at all! It seems to me like they should be in prison. They have purposely abused children and young adults, deceived parents and insurance companies, and they get away with it because they are hideously wealthy and "insiders" in government.

They are horrible, horrible, criminally horrible people. All of them.

I ran on to something different today...and also found that they even imprisoned young adults against their will and tortured them.

They put a rattle snake in the mail box of a lawyer who was fighting them. "Dederich now deceased plead no contest in 1980 to conspiracy, regarding a murder plot to kill a California lawyer litigating against the group. A rattlesnake was placed in his mailbox, but attorney Paul Morantz, survived."

http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000616.html

Why aren't the Semblers, Newton and every culprit involved in their abusive programs in prison? Why is Jerry in prison and they aren't? That's so crooked and wrong and evil. I can only think, because there is no justice. They abused and tortured children. They still do. Jerry watered plants. Jerry is in prison. There is no justice.

They're still at it, too. They just change the name or pick up and move to the next county when they start getting found out.

They are Drug Free America. They get huge amounts of our tax money through funding grants to keep their hideous pogrom operational. Calvina Faye is there pampered, snarling, snapping lap dog.

Why can't they at least be shut down? Why are we forced to keep feeding the monster they have created?

America, the gullible, God shed His Grace on thee.

I want a miracle. That's apparently what it will take to stop them.

That's our Cannabisnews.com family.

If one of these people happens to have one moment of sanity concerning something I happen to believe, I'm not going to join up with and accept the 99.9% I disagree with just for one of my causes.

It isn't going to happen.

You people in control have destroyed all that is good, and winning will be all the more sweet because the destroying liars in charge will have nothing to do with it or us.

Selling out is not winning. Our story and beliefs haven't changed since the 70's, and science has only strengthened what we've known all along.

"For someone who never met an interviewer (or a drug) he did not like, this constitutes a sad state of affairs indeed."

This author, Robert Greenfield, obviously never read Politics of Ecstasy in which Leary classifies all mind-altering "drugs" into 7 levels of consciousness. "Never met a (drug) he did not like" demeans the memory and accomplishments of Dr. Timothy Leary, once described by the US Government as "the most dangerous man alive." It makes Tim look like an indiscriminate drug abuser, which is not an accurate impression. Tim's mission was to champion psychedelics as an alternative to annihilation by nuclear bombs.

Mr. Greenfield also ignores the fact that Dr. Tim self-admitted that he was an alcoholic before he "ingest[ed] magic mushrooms in Mexico." I would expect that such a biography maligning Dr. Leary's work and life is indeed an unauthorized biography. (We know how good those are, not!) Alcoholics do often have problems with relationships and with self-worth, after all. And the Free Love ethos of the 1960's made it harder for everyone of that time to maintain long-term relationships.

"ALTHOUGH MAY 31 marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Timothy Leary, there will be no gathering of the tribes anywhere to commemorate the event."

I would go to such an event if I did not have to work, but what would be the point: maybe to meet a few fellow "heads"? It seems to me that the seeds of the Psychedelic "Revolution" are bearing fruit in the continuing efforts of people all over the planet to get prohibitionist governments and prohibitionist citizens to see the potential value of psychedelic experiences for health and spiritual growth.

And from the snipped portion: "At a time when most people have long since given up believing that consciousness expansion can save the world, a small, unruly celebration would seem to be in order to honor Timothy Leary."

Why do you wish to persecute and harm people and then call it "helping"?

Let the scales drop from you eyes.

Is it really that important to you to be a shill for the drug war?

I think not.

I think you need the money you earn from being part of that particular misled or insidious...it's hard to tell sometimes (perhaps, both)...rat pack, and you have to make the house payments.

I have a feeling you are all about the attention and income...but most especially, the income you get for keeping the drug war all groomed and sleek, and you don't have to get your hands dirty being an actual physician who gets in there and actually doctors people.

It looks like you seem to be selling your soul for some filthy lucre type income. Since I've made a real effort, I think, to love you...I'd like to think you are a better person and smarter than your words and actions make you appear to be.

I'd rather have a smaller house than make my living by being part of the those who wrongfully persecute others for they wish to consume a substance.

May 29, 2006

Ricky Williams has been suspended by the NFL for the 2006 season, but that isn't going to stop him from playing football. Williams has signed a one year contract with the Toronto Argonauts and is now the highest paid RB in the CFL.

By Robert Greenfield, ROBERT GREENFIELD is the author of "Timothy Leary: A Biography," to be published in June by Harcourt Books.

May 29, 2006

Timothy Leary's dead

No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in

— "Legend of a Mind," the Moody Blues

*

Although May 31 marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Timothy Leary, there will be no gathering of the tribes anywhere to commemorate the event. Unlike Jerry Garcia, whose posthumous profile remains so high that the toilet from his home in Marin County was recently stolen after it was auctioned off for charity, Leary's name has not been enshrined on a Ben & Jerry's ice cream carton.

For someone who never met an interviewer (or a drug) he did not like, this constitutes a sad state of affairs indeed. Far more than most of his psychedelic cohorts, Leary understood marketing. He came up with "turn on, tune in, drop out," the catchy mantra he's remembered by (when he's remembered at all), only after consulting with media guru Marshall McLuhan.

Snipped:

Barthwell's talk was billed "A Rational Drug Policy for Contemporary America" and the seminar brochure noted that "reunion weekend is a time for reflection and those who were at [the college] during the 60's and 70's participated in a great cutural change that was pivotal in the development of modern drug policy" and that the seminar would "examine the impact of the 60's and 70's on contemporary drug policy...as the nation has moved from the 'War on Drugs' metaphor to a public health approach, to prevention, intervention and treatment...", including, perhaps, Barthwell "recall[ing] her campus experiences", something of interest to my SSDP colleagues who asked I take notes on this point especially.

Ever read the Controlled Substances Act? The whole dug war is based on illegal drugs are addictive.

Pot is habituating in the range of coffee. The withdrawal is mild the discomfort is minimal. It is still there.

The addictive part is the problem. Why once people are detoxed do they go back to using?

The thing is that if your PTSD (or other similar problem) is severe you need stronger drugs for relief. I have a lot of compassion for heroin users. They tend to be the most severely abused. Dr. Tom O'Connell has found that pot use eliminates or decreases the need for opiates.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/09/more-vindication.html

If there are no addictive drugs then pot is certainly not a problem.

I take a comprehensive view of the problem. I do not believe in heroin gettos. Speed ghettos. Pot ghettos. We are all in this together. What helps on helps all.

It only makes sense for a conservative to be against the wasteful,futile war on cannabis. Regarding the war, to hell with it.

THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...

"May Day, I Repeat, May Day," Say Vets! http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/05/1825710.php

An Appeal to Silent Academics: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/30746

An Open Letter to the 9/11 Commission: http://www.teamliberty.net/id264.html

Naudet Brothers Sue Dylan Avery: http://www.loosechange911.com/main_naudet.html

911podcasts.com presents Richard Andrew Grove on Meria Heller Show: http://www.911podcasts.com/display.php?vid=101

Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth: http://www.mujca.com/

Is there another forum you would care to continue that discussion on?

I think your question is answered by poster #110.

FoM,

I see. This is a private community and you are not interested in allies ouside of your community.

Interesting. Especially if you need allies outside of your community to achieve your goals.

The whole drug war is based on the idea that drugs cause addiction. I have blown some serious holes in that idea not only in regard to cannabis but also other drugs.

In fact by blowing holes in the war against "hard" drugs I do help the cannabis movement. If we can show they are no threat then surely that helps us refute the ideas behind cannabis prohibition.

United we stand.

And I'm still with Dennis Peron. "All use is medical use".

Please. You're trying to turn this into a debate about whether Saddam Hussein and Bashar Al-Assad are nice people?

You have a protofascist government right here in the United States of America and you're talking about how some other political leaders are bad too? Well, sure. China's got a pretty bad system too. Do you propose to invade them? And meantime ignore what's going on in America? People being disappeared without trial, warrantless wiretaps, unitary executive power, and who will liberate us?

Meantime tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis are dying who had nothing to do with the Ba'ath regime, thousands of American soldiers and national guards, the city of New Orleans is drowned, and worst of all...

Excellent points.

The NIDA is as you point out not clean on the subject.

OTOH they have come to the conclusion that what they call "addiction" is in part genetic. I believe that is correct.

So how can we use that to our advantage?

Well we can say that the drug war amounts to genetic discrimination. With government evidence. Which makes it an argument against interest. The most poweerful kind.

Eventually if they are honest about their science they will find that the missing ingredient in the "addiction" question is trauma. Once that happens the drug war is over. I'd like to hasten that day.

Now, he just confuses us with his link posting and obfuscation, and I really believe his confusing posts and "bush" supporting nonsense is just to destroy our website and bring a dark aura to our peaceful community.

I don't get him and quite frankly, I get really bad vibes about him.

What in the hell are you doing here, M Simon? Why are you bringing your fringe minority neo-con rhetoric and intolerance here?

Any possible truth in your message is destroyed by your insolence and bush/cheney/rumsfeld/rice modeled goose stepping alliance with evil.

I'm glad I'm not the only one here who questions your intent, and I think we would all be wise to trust our instincts.

I too am totally in favor of ending all drug prohibition.

I note that the war in the Middle East was being discussed with no objection from you (as long as you agreed with the ideas). So I chimed in with my own perspective. I brought my ideas here because as an opponent of prohibition I have a different view of the war. Had no one else brought up the topic I would have remained silent.

As I pointed out Drug Sense (which is a sponsor of this site) ran one of my articles. So I do have some weight in the movement. Although not much.

My point is that people's views on the war and the nature of our government are diverse. Obviously this is divisive.

The best thing to do (and I pointed it out on another thread) would be to stick to the drug war and avoid other topics that might be divisive. You pick up more allies that way.

In any case I think the issue of PTSD and child abuse is central to why people use drugs.

I would much rather have discussed that but all I got was comments about me being a troll.

Now if you would like to discuss my views on the nature of addiction I'd love to. In fact I'd prefer it.

This is also referred to as the bias against the nil/null hypothesis, which several researchers have written papers on. This bias leads to a shaky foundation for any interest-group funded research.

*** "But the findings of the study, announced this past week, indicate that heavy marijuana smokers actually show lower cancer rates than tobacco smokers, indirectly supporting claims by medical-marijuana proponents for the tumor-inhibiting properties of cannabinoids."

Max says: "We are pretty quick on the draw around here. We have been made that way by the cruelty and lies put upon us by pro-government forces, police and government types for a long time. We stand up for each other here, and we defend the oppressed. To fit in here it helps to fly your colors a bit more brazenly, if they are the colors of the anti-drugwar flag (not to mention anti-war)."

I have explained some in posts #104 and 105 my beliefs.

Religiosly I'd have to say Obi-Wan is My Master. Although for the sake of fitting in I'm also a practicing Jew. Reform. Who are against the drug war in a mild way.

As to opression. There is no group of people on the planet more oppressed than Muslims. By their own governments. Where do Palestinian gays go for refuge? Israel.

BTW there is a thriving pot culture in Israel. Mostly supplied by Arab smugglers. The ironies abound. OTOH Israel is one of the leading places in the world doing research on cannabis as medicine. Especially the work of Dr. Raphael Mechoulam who discovered the CB1 receptor and was the fist to synthesize THC.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2006/04/ptsd-and-endocannabinoid-system.html

I think Ayaan Hirsi Ali speaks the truth about Islam. She speaks out aganst Islam. As a former Muslim I think she might know something.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,399263,00.html

http://misskelly.typepad.com/miss_kelly_/2006/05/ayaan_hirsi_ali_1.html

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=011204A

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/11/60minutes/main679609.shtml

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=6851

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/11/origins-of-islamic-rage.html

If it was up to me I'd flood the are with pot and other drugs to relieve their pain.

Since it is not up to me, until I can change some minds then war it is.

Bernard Lewis has some interesting things to say about our problems with Islam.

http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?EventID=107

You will note that Pew (the host of the site) is a pretty left organiztion.

Whig,

I'm totally against fascism. If you study the history of the Baath Pary (Syria, Iraq under Saddam) you will find it is an offshoot of the German National Socialists.

In fact if you study the history of the Palestinian movement you will find its leader in the 40s raised two Divisiions of Muslims for Hitler's SS.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/01/palestinian-role-in-holocaust.html

Haj Amin was Yasser Arafat's "uncle".

So yeah. I'm against fascism.

Remember though that FDR and the Democrats of the time did nothing about American racism. In fact it was the Democrats of that time that passed pot prohibiton. My point? America is far from perfect. However, it is evolving. And it is better than 95% of the alternatives.

The poor in America (the bottom 20%) have a higher average income than the Swedes. Half the bottom 20% own their own homes. About 80 or 90% of the bottom own a car. About the same percentage own a computer. About 95 to 99% own a TV and a microwave and have indoor plumbing. All this in a country that pays very little attention to the poor. Who in 70 or 80% of the world would be considered any where from middle class to rich. Not too shabby.

Which is not to say - no problem. We can and will do better. Still I live in the real world. Perfection is not an option. We have choices between better or worse. I choose America. With all its faults.

=============================================

I'm totally down with Nall. After all from about 1980 to 9/11 I was a Libertarian. She is doing great work. Even if I don't agree with her position on the war. BTW Libertarians are big on private property and limited government.

I have let myself get off topic here. Again.

What I want to know is how we can use the material I have developed to defeat drug prohibition.

My heart is open totally to the abused children who use pot and other drugs for relief from their painful memories. I am desperate to see that we end their persecution.

To defeat the drug war (which is based on a phantom menace) we must destroy the rationale behind the fear. That rationale is: "drugs cause addiction". My counter to that is: "people in chronic pain (like PTSD from abuse) chronically take drugs for relief". There are no "addicts" only people in pain.

Dennis Peron when he was campaigning for 215 said all use is medical use. I thought he was kidding in order to stop the persecution of recreational users. Now I'm convinced he was right. It only took me a few years to catch on. But, I'm a little slow. What I did do in my research and writing was put that idea on a firm scientific basis. As far as I know from my researches on the www, I am the only writer on the subject propounding that view.

The Drug Sense Weekly did run one of my articles on the subject (for those of you who subscribe).

http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2006/ds06.n445.html

welcome,

I know I can only pack so much into any baggage I might have to carry around, so I think I'll just leave that issue behind this trip.

How many ignorant people,

must continue to be caught up,

in this 'miracle,

http://cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21820.shtml#12

Actually not "kind of" does...it does send a chill up my spine.

I will bow out, gracefully, I hope, and watch to see if you will be able to come to an understanding with MSimon.

I know you feel very strongly about it. I've drawn your ire before myself. Have a little mercy, if you will, though.

An open dialog, can bring closeness,

If I can see it well, though. I can tell by their heads and markings. Especially the shape of their heads. I hope I never run across a King or Coral snake...because I doubt I could tell the difference, especially quickly enough, and I'd feel sad about killing a King snake.

i hope you have a good life,

and share with us, your thoughts,

here at cannabis news,

have you published, a book?

if not, you should,

you have a deep understanding,

Oh, Loretta Nall. No body saw you coming!

You are the gentle juggernaut that will force all the lies to give way before you.

How about stating for the record here what your core beliefs are about the main subject of this site? We regular members do it every day, unequivocally. I mean it's one thing to say "I am anti-prohibition" and it's another to testify to your feelings on that, loudly and proudly, daily, so that no one has any doubt where you are coming from. Will you tell us why you want to be here?

And the fact that some click the links is a sign that some are interested in the information.

Any one who does not need education is dead. I'm 61 and still need educating.

To quote the noted philosopher Zimmerman:

That was unannounced sarcasm against those who favor rounding up Mexicans and shipping them back to Mexico.

It was aimed at the right wingers who go on about "they are breaking our laws".

Note the tenor of the rest of the article.

You will note that the big right wing push this year is not against "druggies" but Mexicans. Deplorable. Racist to the core in my opinion. I do believe the Mexicans make it harder for us in America as every immigrant group has. None the less in 70 years their children and grand children will be honored Americans. I welcome them.

And thank you for a real critique.

I have to go and do some Memorial Day stuff.

It's something I learned as a youngster. People don't appreciate being thought stupid and in need of education that they didn't ask for. A wall will fly up in self defense.

Share with us, your thoughts and ideas. Don't come on with the obvious arrogance that ruins your ideas by saying, "You're stupid...I'm here to help you." I've seen people do it over and over during my life. I can tell you one thing about "tactics". That is one of the worst tactics available, when you are wanting to make new friends.

You have said you are not a Christian. Are you agnostic or are you atheist or what do you believe? Let us go from there. We already know where one another stands on some issues, it is more fruitful that we know why we take the stands that we do.

While it is true that America is a better place than many others, it is also important never to forget the history of fascism and where it leads inexorably. The people who you support are intent on making this country into the Fourth Reich and they are well along the way.

This is not a choice between two totalitarian ideologies. Nobody is asking you to advocate Stalinism. You are not forced to choose Hitler as the alternative.

Hell, despite being a war supporter, I have given you tools to use against it.

So I will not comment further on how Saudi Arabia treats women. Or any of the other bad shit suppored by Islam that makes America look like paradise in comparison.

I want to defeat the drug war.

And if that is what you want you are going to need more right wingers on your side. I have provided a lot of articles on a right wing site (mine) that you can use to convince those on the right that being against the drug war is not just a left wing enclave. I have science on my side too! I have given you tools. Use them.

So you have to ask yourself: "Will what I am doing gain me the support of the right I need to defeat the drug war"? What do you want? A private culture or results.

Personally, despite being on the other side in most politics, I want results.

This is the Law of Nature, the ONLY Law, (noticed bush recognizes NO LAWS, written or otherwise, especially those of nature!)

I KNOW you support John Murtha, so you will be happy he is doing his job! One of the few!

I'm not trolling for hits. I'm trying to educate folks I consider my allies in the anti-prohibitiionist movement.

So far I have gotten many personal attacks in return. No critiques of the material I have presented.

You critics of my posts can do better than that.

So what about the site hits? It doesn't hurt us, does it?

Keep your "stake" at hand, but lets give him a chance...another chance. He's with us on our main goal. If he should wish to provoke us to the point of continuous flaming, FoM, has a trap door under him, and all of us, that she can open any time. I know you don't like him. But give him a chance.

He obviously wants to be here, more as a friend (although it might be an irritating friend) than a troublemaker.

As long as he makes himself behave respectfully, we should try a bit of tolerance...up to a point.

Where's that olive branch?

And I will ignore the troll!

I find your characterization quite disingenuous.

Main Entry: im·pe·ri·al·ism

Pronunciation: im-'pir-E-&-"li-z&m Function: noun

1 : imperial government, authority, or system

2 : the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas; broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence

Imperialism is the attempting to dominate and take over other countries. I don't see a single Islamic government trying to do that. I do see people in Iraq, yes including terrorists and thugs, but also regular people, resisting American imperialism. "Islamic imperialism" would be Iran or Saudi Arabia or Yemen, etc., invading a neighboring country, especially a non-Islamic one, and trying to dominate it.

I have read some of the other stuff you've written, and personally I wouldn't trust what you say as far as I can spit. Based on your previous writings, I'm at a loss as to why you are starting to frequent this site, unless maybe you are bait, hoping that people will get mad enough at you to write your email address to flame you and ID themselves to you that way (have many cop friends, M?).

bush let 911 happen, was warned, see the NYTimes article on Judith Miller AND the Administration knowing FULL WELL before the attacks that they were planned.

The Story that Got AWay: http://alternet.org/story/36388/

We NOW have given the WORLD any excuse it needs to put barb wire around the U.S. and lock up the brainwashed masses, as well as our leaders.

The World at large now thinks ALL Americans believe in FoX News, and spew bushes talking points ala right-wing talk radio. Maybe the Dixie Chicks can counter that, Neil too!

Bush in Iraq is bushes' conscious recruiting tool for Al-bush-queda, and it is working! From tiny in 2001 to HUGE now, go figure, quo bono, who benefits, ask yourselves.

Blame it on the Koran, blame it on the Muslims, blame it on the Arabs, but cheney, rumy and bushie were licking their lips BEFORE 911, knowing bushes low poll numbers would turn around with a staged psy-operation of un-imagimanable porportions.

And they knew 'muricans would buy into it, hook, line and sinker!

We have proof right here at C-News! You! Our new troll!

Thank you.

I used to be a very strong lefty so I am not unsympathetic to your goals. When I learned economics I saw that socialism was not a big wealth producer. Hell, Marx was a big fan of capitalism as a wealth producer. You can look it up.

Well any way. My goals have not changed. Just my methods.

BTW my #2 son has a full scholarship to Rockefeller University in Chicago. Eventually great wealth trickles down to the common man.

And in case you hadn't heard the University of Chicago was founded by the Rockefellers. They have a great school of economics.

I'm not trolling for hits. I'm trying to educate folks I consider my allies in the anti-prohibitiionist movement.

So far I have gotten many personal attacks in return. No critiques of the material I have presented.

Deadly Drug... prohibition www.drugwarrant.com A Deadly Heroin Mixture Is Claiming Dozens of Lives This story has been picking up steam in recent days as more and more people are dying around the country from this mix of heroin and fentanyl.

This is a serious problem and is a fault of prohibition.

Remember:

Under prohibition, we have given the right to the criminal of who's going to supply the drugs to the United States, what kind of drugs are going to be supplied, how much those drugs are going to cost, how they're going to be produced, how potent they're going to be what age levels they're going to sell to, and where they're going to sell. And if they decide they're going to sell to 10-year-old kids on our playgrounds, by God that's where they'll be sold. - Jack Cole [of LEAP And, of course, that means that we have given full control over the safety and purity of drugs to the criminal as well.

The government should know this full well, since this is not the first time we've faced this problem. Think back to the 'good old days' of alcohol prohibition:

I knew it, but the abused were never believed and there was no proof that could be used against them...and word against word, the bad cops usually won.

Although I had known of officers who were fired and banned from law enforcement for such behavior...but to my knowledge they were never prosecuted. And there were, and are, plenty of them who were not banned. Apparently, man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds.

Only thing is, I never assumed it was something only the South suffered. I figured they were everywhere. I still think they are.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/02/biggest-cover-up-of-all.html

I talk about how the culture war against drug users is similar to the Nazi culture war against Jews. I use the right's own material against them.

The only way to do that is to be very close to those folks.

You need more right wingers in your camp. And against CAMP.

What was a bit confusing to me though was why they were torturing him to get him to sign a search consent form. If they had a search warrant for the guy's house, and were in his house, why did they need a signed consent form to toss his house? Is that a peculiarity of TN law?

Whose to blame?

I was a conscientous objector to the Viet Nam War, and until I was fifteen, wanted to be in the Green Berets, though by the time the 68' Democratic Convention in Chicago, I was a declared anarchist, (and when I stated this in my Social Studies class, my teacher, Mr. Hayes, strangled me, for real, in front of all the other class mates. True story!)

Anarchist' for life, thank you Mr. Hayes!

Let me know if this has any effect on the way any of you feel about war, our soldiers, their training, lack of accountability by their superiors, and if our actions abroad are creating a perspective that America is okay with War Criminals running our country, torture is fine, murder, no problem, war is war, immigrants deserve to be snuffed out in the desert,'nuf said!

Oh, and Alberto Gonzo-uber-alles wants to charge journalists with crimes for reporting bushes crimes, what a day! These guys should hang for their crimes, and I oppose the death penalty. (GCW: these ARE the self-condemned that you talk about, they support the death penalty, live by the sword, die by the sword!)

There's no reason to do that among friends. It will ruin the relationship.

So maybe you are a friend of mine, at least in the area of the Drug War.

Some strong personalities post at this site. You obviously have a strong personality. It may take effort for us not to irritate each other...but I'm hoping you can do it. You're smart enough to know when you might be jabbing a sore spot on some C-Newsers and smart enough to resist the temptation.

Welcome.

Her actions brought a bit of justice to her husband's torture and likely saved others from suffering a similar fate at the hands of the monsters with badges.

As much as you folks here hate the war against Islamic Imperialism attacking it is a frontal assault. Which generally is suicide.

Use the oblique approach. Taint them with the immorality they do in America. Just as racism destroyed the support for the war in 'Nam.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/09/drug-war-racism.html

When we see: "Drug war persecutes abused children" in the headlines support for the war against Islamic Imperialism will dry up.

Why as a war supporter don't I worry about that? I have faith in my enemies. We will see attacks on America worse than 9/11 when we let our guard down. If it is a nuclear attack we will nuclear counter attack. It will not be pretty.

It is the blue print for Islamic Imperialism.

Look at how they treat gays, women, and drug users.

BTW I'm a 'Nam Vet and was totally anti-war in the '60s. Until we got the boat people in the 70s. And the re-ed camps. And the murders of around 100,000 Vietnamese post war by the communists. Them communists was not nice people. And by eliminating private property they stunted Vietnam's economic growth.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/11/property.html

And despite the war the Vietnamese are pretty pro-American these days. You can look it up.

That said I still hate the drug war. Have since '66. In fact the drug war was one of the things that propelled me into the anti-war camp.

Just remember:

Neville Chamberlain was a man of peace.

Hitler of course blamed everything on the Jews. Just like the current President of Iran, or Saddam for that matter.

=================================================

In any case to all those vets out there pro-war or anti, thank you for your service.

For all the vets out there suffering from PTSD. This one is for you:

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/10/ptsd-pot-alcohol-substance-abuse.html

and this one too:

You're one of my role models for staying open to the world and not becoming closed off and cynical.

I have an intellectual personality so it's very easy for me to go in the direction of cynicism. It's like water flowing downhill.

It's nice to come here and see an alternative.

(Thanks for the comments on the tape recording!)

It all comes back to the psuedo 'war on druuuugs'.

Maybe Iraq is just a training ground for our soldiers to prepare for the lockdown of the U.S.?

I know most will only find jobs in the security guard/ prison industrial complex, so this is great training for them isn't it.

Or is it our karma for not stopping our leaders from going to war in our names?

(Will we bear the brunt of the crimes being committed in our names, for our seeming silence on the subject, a lack of appropriate OUTRAGE?)

Citizens of countries worldwide ALWAYS pay the price for their leaders agenda, Iraq, China, Iran, the U.S., we must take our power back folks, these guys think it's a done deal!

This video says it all, about America, the World, humans and the effect of brainwashing, lack of information, as well as the effects of 40 years of dumbing down citizens of this country, and it HAS worked quite well, though we're not down for the count yet, and we know the light always overcomes the darkness!

Yet,

Look at the madness we are heaping on innocent women and children, as well as men, yet, where is the outcry from Americans? The silence is deafening, especially in Congress, and from our supposedly elected officials.

And how did we end up here? The War on Drugs is responsible, for numbing people down to the point where brutality and murder are just episodes of a 'Cops' show.

I believe that has been the true aim of the War on Some Drugs, anybody else see the direction I'm heading?

'Empire burlesque! High crimes and low comedy in the bush emperiom'

The soldiers are the enemy of those they kill. From the perspective of the innocent women and children of Haditha, the US soldiers certainly were the enemy.

It isn't politically correct to criticize the military. But this is not WW II. We are not faced with an enemy that poses a military threat to ourselves. There is no military draft. Nobody has to be a soldier if they don't want to be.

It is very much analogous to the police. There are good police, and there are good soldiers, and they enroll or enlist for honorable and good reasons. But they are sent on bad missions, they are told to kill innocent people for the greater glory of the state. And pretty soon they are broken, they are no longer capable of holding their heads up with honor. The exception is unfortunately rare.

Is this what WW II was fought for?

Tape recording of police torturing suspects, disturbing, and could be happening down the street from your house, this is George Bushes Amerikkka, what was it our Veterans died for? A Racist Police State rules the USA, here's your proof!

Police torture in Knoxville TN: When Tennessee law enforcement officials showed up at the home of Lester Siler, who they suspected of drug use, they asked Lester's wife and son to leave. They didn't know that Lester's wife had turned on a tape recorder in the kitchen.

When Lester exercised his constitutional right not to sign a consent to search his house, these officers spent the next two hours torturing him. They beat him with bats and guns, held loaded guns to his head, threatened to shoot him, dunked his head in the toilet, burned him with lighters, attached his testicles to a battery charger, threatened to cut off his fingers, and threatened to "go get" his wife and take his child away from him. Then they arrested him for "evading arrest"."

You can here nearly 40 minutes of the tape recording HERE

You see even the government has no weapon against objective science.

Here is a bit on gentics and drug use that shows the NIDA is starting to become more objective on the subject:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n446/a04.html?20314

So the NIDA has figured out about 1/2 the equation. Chronic use is in part genetic. What they haven't confronted is the other 1/2 - trauma.

I figured all this out 4 years ago. Every month there is further confirmation.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2006/04/ptsd-and-endocannabinoid-system.html

Supression of medical research on pot is our biggest enemy in fighting drug prohibition. Because medical science will show that chronic users smoke da weed because they need it.

Here is an oldie but goodie:

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/02/police-and-ptsd.html

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/12/genetic-discrimination.html

I might mention that tobacco is an anti-depressant.

And let me add. Your biggest enemy is the medical cartel.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/10/war-on-unpatented-drugs.html

A number of my articles have been published on this site. You can look it up.

The biggest thing you could do to destroy the religious reich is to show that the drug war is a persecution of abused children. And yes I like the Bush Presidency. Funny though I liked Clinton too. (I have a thing for zaftig Jewish women. LOL). I can't abide theocons. Which is why I voted Bush/Obama in '04.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/09/heroin.html Heroin

BTW you ought to read my stuff. It is backed by medical science. A stronger argument than rights in my opinion. Educate yourself on the nature of addiction. It is your strongest weapon in this war.

I was just jokingly pointing out how many times he's posted the same links.

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2005/11/is-addiction-real.html

Is Addiction Real?

and

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2004/09/addiction-or-self-medication.html

Addiction or Self Medication?

"``is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction," federally supported marijuana research will logically tilt toward the potential harms, not benefits, of cannabis. "

Did he just call the President a Communist?