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| Pot Church Takes a Hit |
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Posted by CN Staff on July 08, 2006 at 23:16:24 PT By Stephanie Innes, Arizona Daily Star Source: Arizona Daily Star 
Pima, AZ -- The Church of Cognizance, which has quietly operated here since 1991, has an unusual tenet - its worshippers deify and use marijuana as part of their faith. Until federal authorities charged them with possessing 172 pounds of their leafy green sacrament earlier this year, church founders Dan and Mary Quaintance say they smoked, ate or drank marijuana daily as a way of becoming more spiritually enlightened. But now, with added conspiracy charges, the Quaintances face up to 40 years each in prison in a case they call religious persecution. Federal prosecutors say religious freedom does not exempt the use of illegal drugs. The Quaintances say it does. They also say a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing a religious group's use of a hallucinogenic tea containing a federally banned substance should nullify the charges against them. The couple is scheduled to go on trial in Las Cruces, N.M., on July 18, though defense lawyers are asking for a delay. "They have a bona fide religion and the only marijuana they utilize is for the practice of their religion," said Mary Quaintance's attorney, Mario A. Esparza. "Our Constitution in the United States guarantees that freedom of religion, and the Quaintances are being punished for the very thing the Constitution stands for. "They did not distribute to anyone outside of the church and they never profited from it," Esparza said. The Church of Cognizance, which leaders say has 72 monasteries located in members' homes nationwide, has a simple motto: "With good thoughts, good words and good deeds, we honor marijuana; as the teacher, the provider, the protector." Dan Quaintance, 54, says the church has 40 to 50 members in Arizona, but cannot estimate how many there are nationwide. Leaders say members must be 18 to join, and he says the average age of worshippers in Arizona is 35. Dan, who preaches at weddings and funerals of church members, says the church does not sell its sacrament or proselytize. "Laws exist to protect people from injury and we've injured nobody," said Dan Quaintance, an Iowa native, Vietnam veteran and retired welder who identifies himself as his church's "chief cognoscente." "Marijuana is the averter of death," he said. "The energy and spirit that is in marijuana is God. You consume the plant and you consume God. You are sacrificing your body to the deity." The Quaintances were arrested Feb. 22 in Lordsburg, N.M., just seven days before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a small religious group based in Santa Fe that combines Christianity and American Indian practices could use hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies. The tea, called hoasca, contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, known for its hallucinogenic properties. A variety of religious groups representing millions of members filed briefs supporting O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal, or UDV, and its use of hoasca - among them the Arizona Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Union for Reform Judaism. Some supporters likened banning the tea to a federal ban on sacramental wine. Graham County Sheriff Frank Hughes says that in his 10 years on the job, he's never had a complaint about the Quaintances, who live in a small rectangular home in the sparsely populated rural community of Pima, about 90 miles northeast of Tucson. Their home sits on a four-acre property that's dotted with old vehicles. Alongside their house is a wall made out of tires, which the Quaintances say eventually will form the boundary of an outdoor chapel. The couple's 31-year-old daughter, Zina; her husband, Tim; and their three children have a home on the property, as do the Quaintances' 28-year-old son, Dennis, and his wife, Vanessa, and their son. Their home bears no resemblance to a traditional church, inside or out. Yet the Quaintances call it a monastery and are adamant that the church they founded together is a sincere, legitimate faith - on par with any mainstream religious denomination. A tapestry of Bob Marley smoking a large joint decorates the front hallway, and inside, the couple has a few handmade pipes, some of which have won ribbons in the glazing division of the Graham County Fair. Most of their pipes and other sacramental accessories were seized when authorities searched their home March 3, they say. The Quaintances do not grow their sacrament but, rather, say they rely on donations of it, which they pick up from church "couriers." That's what they say they were about to do when they were arrested. They smoke the marijuana or sometimes blend it into a milk-like drink, saying it helps them to become more enlightened and in tune with the universe. Until they were arrested, the Quaintances say they'd smoked or ingested the plant every day of their 33-year marriage, even before they formed their church. Both were marijuana users when they met, and they credit the plant to helping their marriage survive. "It makes you better at what you do, enhances who you are. It is the most beautiful plant on Earth," said Mary Quaintance, 51, a homemaker from Northern California who married Dan in 1973, when she was 18. They met while Mary worked as nurse's aide in Chico, Calif., and rented a room from Dan's parents. Dan Quaintance, who grew up in the United Methodist faith and once was president of his church youth group, says finding marijuana helped him finish high school, later kick a heroin addiction and get through acute pancreatitis. It was during his illness that he began researching marijuana's use among ancient cultures, and he started to think about forming his own church. As he reread the Bible, he believed many passages that referred to a leaf, tree or plant were talking about marijuana. "Religion is basically putting your faith in what you rely on," he said. "Jesus started his church because of what he believed and learned." He filed a "declaration of religious sentiment" on behalf of the Church of Cognizance with the Graham County Recorder's Office in 1994, though Dan, his family and other members say the church dates to 1991. Services at the Church of Cognizance aren't scheduled. According to the Quaintances, members call the monasteries and arrange a worship time, which typically includes using marijuana and listening to sermons by fellow cognoscenti that talk about peaceful existence. "Dan and Mary are two of the most beautiful, wholesome people," said Daniel Jeffrey, an enlightened cognoscente in Puna, Hawaii. "We're not involved with herb for any kind of profit gain. If you tell people that, their mind just can't grasp it." Still, Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Virginia-based First Amendment Center, says any group seeking an exemption to the nation's drug laws, even for religious purposes, has a "hill to climb." And he says the federal government is likely in a better position to win against the religious use of marijuana than it was for the hallucinogenic tea case, given the prevalence of marijuana and the federal government's concern about a drug problem in the country. The hallucinogenic tea is difficult to find and reportedly doesn't taste very good, Haynes said, noting the same is true for peyote, which also is a federally banned substance. A federal exemption for peyote exists when it's used for religious practices by members of the Native American Church. In Arizona, people using peyote who aren't members of the Native American Church also are exempt as long as the peyote is used for a "bona fide religious purpose" in a manner that doesn't threaten the public. But there are no such exceptions for marijuana. "Marijuana is difficult, even if they have a sincere religious belief," Haynes said. "The federal government has already successfully fought efforts to get a medical exemption." The U.S. Constitution contains no legally recognizable definition of religion, but courts still can apply a test of sincerity, said Jeremy Gunn, director of the Freedom of Religion and Belief program for the American Civil Liberties Union, which supported the UDV church. If, for example, a group of prisoners calling themselves the Church of Cabernet and Filet Mignon argued religious belief as a reason to be served wine and better food, the government would have a right to question the sincerity of their theological belief, he said. "The UDV case did not open the floodgate," he said. "The government needs to show why it makes sense to apply the drug laws in that circumstance. In the UDV case, the hallucinogenic tea is honestly a traditional part of the religious practice." The office of the U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, prosecuted the UDV case, and also is prosecuting the Quaintances. His office declined to comment on a pending case. The Quaintances have no history of criminal convictions in Arizona, where they've lived since 1986, but both have prior convictions for marijuana possession in Washington state, records show. Dan Quaintance says he also has a 1974 conviction from California for driving under the influence and spent 30 days in jail for that offense. The Quaintances spent two weeks in a New Mexico jail after their arrest this year and, as part of their court-ordered release, must have regular urine tests to ensure they aren't using any marijuana. Both say that living without their deity for the first time in more than three decades is extremely difficult. The complaint against the couple, which was amended, includes two other defendants ¡ª Timothy Jason Kripner, 23, of Tucson and Joseph Allen Butts, 48, of California. The revised complaint raised the stakes in the case, adding conspiracy charges and more than 220 pounds of marijuana. Dan Quaintance says Kripner and Butts are both certified couriers for the church. Kripner was traveling with the Quaintances when they were arrested, and authorities say Butts was involved in a conspiracy with them to distribute marijuana. "They may take Dan and Mary down but they will never take the church down," Mary Quaintance said. Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or at: sinnes@azstarnet.com Note: S. Arizona couple face prison for what they say is religious use of marijuana. Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ) CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #82 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 21:30:15 PT |
| Thank you. I am still a little overwhelmed by it all. For a little while the Camden, New Jersey show will be playing on Rust Radio. Roel from the Rust List has the radio online only on the weekends. I am going to listen t it alittle more before it is turned off for the week. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #81 posted by Hope on July 09, 2006 at 20:56:37 PT |
| Welcome back! I'm so glad you made it through safe and sound. I'm so thankful that the trouble there didn't escalate any farther than it did. Rest up. We want to hear about the event as soon as you are up to it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #80 posted by ekim on July 09, 2006 at 20:38:40 PT |
| now if stick can get a sticher at one of the stops to lay down some neat tracks of cnews.com on a shirt and hat you could have the logo go nation wide with the doc. good luck you have worked hard, thanks for helping so many. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #79 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 18:20:22 PT |
| http://www.myspace.com/hempjack [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #78 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 18:01:38 PT |
| Welcome Home! Rest up and tell us all about it when you have recovered from the trip. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #77 posted by museman on July 09, 2006 at 17:50:43 PT |
| Hello all, Just returned from the Rainbow Gathering. I am totally fried from the journey, but full of the experience. This topic was discussed with me by a couple of members of the Church of Cognizance who were at the gathering. I am about to melt, amd I am going to rest. The Gathering was wonderful, and I look forward to sharing with you all....tomorrow. peace [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #76 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 15:17:41 PT |
| Thank you. This is all I know about the Documentary. http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/rust/message/164907 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #75 posted by Toker00 on July 09, 2006 at 14:54:25 PT |
| 54% Religious Freedom 39% Cannabis is illegal 7% Just don't get it. A little better. Toke. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #74 posted by Toker00 on July 09, 2006 at 14:41:57 PT |
| We will all want a copy of that documentary. You are already our star, so we know you can do it. Let us know when and how to buy it. You are very deserving of the interview! Kool, Whig, I was hoping you would have good things to say about this church. These people, like us, are True Believers. I expect this to be our Religious case against the Federal Government. Can we conjure up a miracle? I believe we can. This church is without doubt, a legitimate church. Let's all project Love and Peace to these people. They are definitely on the Line. What state are you in Afterburner? Wage peace on war. Living With Drug War. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #73 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 13:07:06 PT |
| I checked it out. I sure don't understand any of it though. My background is different then theirs is. They should be allowed to follow their religion and it's culture. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #72 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 13:00:28 PT |
| Check Comment 17 on the AZ Star article. Dan Q is participating. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #71 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 12:48:58 PT |
| You're welcome. I really can't handle fighting. It turns into like a oneupsmanship thing to me. Anyone with determination can usually win an argument but what good does it do anyone? Whig that's all I could think of. Maybe someone else might know more. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #70 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 12:39:59 PT |
| This is what I posted to Glenn Greenwald's blog: [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #69 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 12:37:00 PT |
| Thank you, FoM, that we don't have that kind of daily, petty flaming here at Cannabis News. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #68 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 12:26:48 PT |
| It's not so much that I want to get in touch with Dan & Mary as I want the legal aid departments of some of our better funded organizations to get in touch with them. There's not much I can do in that respect, as I'm not a lawyer. I know enough law to be able to write a paragraph or two on why I think this is an important case for NORML, MPP or ACLU to get involved in, but that's about it. I'm going to mention this over on Glenn Greenwald's blog in the meantime, because he is a First Amendment lawyer and probably knows some people, if he's interested in helping. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #67 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 12:22:03 PT |
| At the top of the page there is contact information that might help. I can't copy and paste it because it is a banner. http://coc.enlightener.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #66 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 12:12:50 PT |
| Do you know how to get in touch with the legal beagles? I can write a legal paragraph or two about how I see the issues in this case and why it is so vital. But I don't know who to send that to. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #65 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 12:00:44 PT |
| http://community.azstarnet.com/slideshows/flash/index.php?id=586 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #64 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 11:58:39 PT |
| remain free [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #63 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 11:55:10 PT |
| Thank you. I fixed it in the copyright section of the article. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #62 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 11:54:06 PT |
| I like the full article. I really like this Church of Cognizance. As much as I hate that anyone ever gets hassled, we know it's going to happen to some of us, eventually. And we know that we are going to have an uphill climb if we assert our religious right to use cannabis. We had better be glad that when they decide to persecute our religion head on, they are faced with a pure example of what we believe and someone who has a demonstrated experience bringing others to understanding. In other words, I feel badly for Dan and Mary, but I cannot help but take some comfort that they are better prepared to defend than many of us might be. What needs to happen, and desperately, is the organizations with their well-financed legal departments, the NORMLs and the MPPs and the ACLUs and the rest who can help in defending Dan and Mary Quaintance, get in touch with them. It is so vital that Dan and Mary have all the resources at their disposal as quickly as possible, so that from the very first impression of the court case, they are making the best presentation for the record. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #61 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 11:46:50 PT |
| This one still works: http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/metro/137087 The link in the article above doesn't work. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #60 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 11:44:07 PT |
| additional material [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #59 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 11:43:36 PT |
| Did you look at the Slide Show on the AZ Star link? Dan Quaintance is absolutely, perfectly benign. He is a saint and a good man. Just beatific. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #58 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 11:41:21 PT |
| lombar, what happened to your Buddhist skill, do you really think that the whigger is listening? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #57 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 11:40:26 PT |
| Thank you. I have been asked to moderate other boards and I can't do it. Moderating is the hardest part of doing CNews. It goes against my very nature. I had this idea in my mind years ago that I wanted CNews to be like a friendly party that we can talk about news or world events or whatever. The only thing I didn't want was hate and trolling to corrupt what I wanted to be a sanctuary of sorts. That is the hardest part of the whole thing. I never get any joy in banning anyone. I have never been banned anywhere I have ever posted. I respect other people's hard work. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #56 posted by lombar on July 09, 2006 at 11:36:15 PT |
| What would an igloo dweller know about deserts and their flora? :) I was just curious the other day and read up on peyote. With human assistance, a peyote cactus can mature in 6-10 years and that they have been over harvested. (yeah, that never happens to anything) I did not look for other mescaline producing plants, I linked to a synthetic reaction procedure to make the mescaline. Go get 'em FoM! Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down Well I won't back down No I won't back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won't back down ------------------------ No, I'll stand my ground Won't be turned around And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down Gonna stand my ground ------------------ {Refrain} I won't back down Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out I won't back down Hey I will stand my ground And I won't back down ----------------- Well I know what's right, I got just one life In a world that keeps on pushin' me around But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down ------------------ {Refrain thrice} No, I won't back down ----------------------------------- [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #55 posted by Hope on July 09, 2006 at 11:32:39 PT |
| It's pretty obvious that some prohibs or LEOs have already cheated. So gw is right...there will likely be a whole lot of cheating going on by the prohibs. So, because of that, even after we've all voted and if we still lose...we will know why. Whatever the poll says though...we are right. Freedom of Religion is far more important than their petty, ill conceived, and illegitimate prohibition laws. It makes them traitors and not true patriots of what this country was founded on. Their efforts at promoting and inflating a traitorous lie make it no less a lie. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #54 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 11:31:20 PT |
| Canadian cannabis activists have been involved with a hush-hush plan to plant non-THC hemp seeds in public places to overgrow the Canadian government's stubborn prohibitionist backlash. The no-longer-secret results are in and you may now view them at
http://www.cannabisculture.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1241713&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=11&vc=1 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #53 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 11:30:36 PT |
| cannabis -- smells bad Reminds me of a song. *** Momma Told Me Not To Come - Randy Newman: open up the window let some air into this room I think I'm almost chokin' on the smell of stale perfume and the cigarette you're smokin' 'bout scares me half to death oh open up the window let me catch my breath [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #52 posted by Hope on July 09, 2006 at 11:23:13 PT |
| The interview request...My, oh my, oh my! Pray and go for it! "Don't worry about what you'll say ahead of time"...just trust and go for it. You'll do more than well. I know you will. This will be an interview, too...so it's just asking questions and all you have to do is answer them. It'll also be a friendly interview. They won't be trying to trip you up or mess you up in any way. Your devotion to this site has gone so far beyond the call of a normal sense of duty. It's been nothing short of astounding. You've spent so much of your time and worked so hard "enabling" Freedom of Speech in a situation where so many are so afraid to speak their minds...that you really deserve notice and recognition for your devotion to the work you've done. You really do. You are responsible for a venue that has been so helpful to so many of us. Cannabis News is as much about Freedom of Speech as it is about News. It would be nice if they could interview you at a time separate from the concert so that anxiety about the interview wouldn't interfere with your enjoyment of the concert. Martha, "Full of Grace"…you'll do so well. I know you will. (Freedom of Speech note: Through the years you've felt you had to ban some people from practicing their particular freedom of speech at this particular site. I know you had your reasons. And I respect that. It's your site. Your "house". Your "domain". You are the boss of it. When I see what you have made of Cannabis News…I sure can't deny that your choices were good ones and made for sound reasons to preserve what you were trying to create here. You've done an exceptionally good job. Congratulations.) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #51 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 11:22:19 PT |
| religious freedom is more sacred than illegal drug laws 51-42 the tide has turned Hope you can hold on, for the piggies will get nasty and rotten, for they were always pigs, swallowing in filth and rotten greedy godless and useless imaginations, the longest fiber, the longest gift cannot be hidden from the population. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #50 posted by mai_bong_city on July 09, 2006 at 11:10:39 PT |
| exactly! i guess it's the pungent smell of truth :) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #49 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 11:10:31 PT |
| No No No not lovers. I am old enough to be his mother! LOL! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #48 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 11:07:58 PT |
| may come together there is much unfinished business [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #47 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:58:00 PT |
| You're welcome. You are just so huggable. Oh dear I'm talking like one of those hippies with hugs and all. LOL! Thanks SoberStoner. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #46 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 10:53:59 PT |
| I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, but what I have decided for myself is to talk openly about my beliefs, because in doing so I am encouraging others to give me feedback and help me to understand better, and we all help one another to understand all of us. I hope that makes sense to you, and if you ever feel like this is a comfortable place to talk about what you believe, I'd love to know where you see things similarly or differently from me. Really, more than anything, CNews is my church. It's not that I learn everything here, but it is the only fixed establishment where I can always go and meet and talk to my coreligionists, any time of day or night. I love it here. Thanks again FoM for making it happen, and thanks for everyone's participation! I love you all. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #45 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 10:48:39 PT |
| Natural mescaline cactuses are plentiful, easy to grow and are commonly used by many people traditionally. San Pedro, Peruvianus cactus have less mescaline than Peyote, but sufficient to be easily extracted in a tea. The recent decision with respect to UDV is more on point, however. It was the current court, it was Roberts opinion, and it stood foresquare for the principle that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act gave the group the right to use Ayahuasca for religious purposes, they may even import it. Ayahuasca does not take years to grow, but it does require a rather tropical climate and that means it is impractical to grow in the United States. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #44 posted by SoberStoner on July 09, 2006 at 10:47:15 PT |
| Congratulations FoM! Whether you appear or not, it's really a blessing that you were asked. I can completely understand that camera shy part, but if nothing else, you can ask them if they can alter the lighting so that you won't be seen except as a shadow. That may help you get over being in front of the camera. As for the story, it just gives me a good reason to keep my church quiet for now. I wish I could be more open and spread the word about my beliefs more openly, but this story illustrates the dangers of doing so in this country. The fact that I cannot freely practice my religion without fear of prosectution is exactly why we are supposed to have the first amendment in the first place. The founders would be outraged at this and anyone that knows anything about our constitution should be as well. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #43 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 10:40:24 PT |
| rats shooting cannabis and heroin, then there is those fat cats just waiting for those fat and chilled out rats, HaHaHa, you have to do a little bit better, can you smell a different world? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #42 posted by lombar on July 09, 2006 at 10:34:29 PT |
| I think the SCOTUS decided peyote was ok because it takes 10-30 YEARS to cultivate. The synthetic routes to mescaline are much more productive but involve some work, knowledge, and equipment. WolfgangWylde You are right, it's game over. The media, the governement, the DEA, and NIDA, are all prejudiced, and not to be trusted especially with respect to cannabis. I looked at one report that started with 'scientists believe that pot is a gateway'... so they set out to prove what they already 'believed'. The simple fact is that if you habitiate an animal to drugs(condition it to take them) is it really a surprise that they take more drugs when given the option? I will trust my own experience over their biased studies.... your experience, FoMs, whigs, gws, Mark Emerys.... long before I EVER beleive the 'authorities' again. Using cannabis has not made me into a herion addict, nor do I crave cocaine or even alcohol.. but I guess we can't be trusted like caged rats. So you are right, the game is 'democracy' and it is OVER because it has been usurped by greedy warmongers. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #41 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:30:11 PT |
| Thank you too. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #40 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:28:38 PT |
| Thank you. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #39 posted by Had Enough on July 09, 2006 at 10:22:12 PT |
| Agreed [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #38 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 10:18:44 PT |
| May your man hold your hand tight, you may feel a little lift, but you and your husband have been precious anchors in this world, and this venue of ending cannabis prohibition, it will be a piece of cake, you have done much more difficult things, and there are many 'witnesses, that will agree.. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #37 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 10:14:42 PT |
| You have mail. "one of two" should read "one or two": dang typos. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #36 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:14:24 PT |
| A review from last night's show. http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/rust/message/165247 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #35 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 10:08:45 PT |
| Peyote -- tastes bad. It really, really does. Well, I'm stretching a point a little because what I know the taste of is not technically peyote but a mescaline cactus nonetheless. Very bad, almost nausea-inducing. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #34 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:04:40 PT |
| I agree that we need to always speak from our heart. My problem is I won't be earthbound. My husband won't be able to let go of my hand or I might just float away never to be seen again. LOL! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #33 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 10:00:55 PT |
| How could I possibly do it if I can't wear my Vote for George T-Shirt? LOL! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #32 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 09:59:50 PT |
| If you speak from your heart, you cannot go wrong, if you speak from the clutter that fills your mind with confusion, you will baffle and be baffled.. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #31 posted by Had Enough on July 09, 2006 at 09:55:55 PT |
| “I don't want the flow of what I will experience to get cluttered if that makes sense." It makes perfect sense. That is why you will do fine. You are already figuring out a way to prevent that. You will clear every hurdle in your way. Do you see what I mean by that? Oh you will do it right. Yes you certainly will. Just keep your eye on the prize, ignore the clutter. Now about your Wardrobe. Please, do not wear a “Vote for George” T-Shirt!!! :) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #30 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 09:50:57 PT |
| Didn't *they* (the arch-prohibitionists) say in other places that cannabis "stinks." Wouldn't that qualify it in their twisted little fantasy. "The hallucinogenic tea ... doesn't taste very good, Haynes said, noting the same is true for peyote, which also is a federally banned substance." According to the "Church" of Prohibition: ayahuasca tea -- tastes bad peyote -- tastes bad cannabis -- smells bad So, what's the diff? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #29 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 09:41:03 PT |
| I think museman must be on his way home. The Gathering ended on the 7th but it looks like he has a long drive back. I figured he'd be home tonight or maybe tomorrow. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #28 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 09:39:18 PT |
| I guess if I am suppose to do it I will but darn this is hard since I am really camera shy. I hate my picture taken and always have. I am going to give it a lot of thought. I won't decide today. I'll sleep on it a few days. I don't want the flow of what I will experience to get cluttered if that makes sense. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #27 posted by mai_bong_city on July 09, 2006 at 09:37:30 PT |
| i think that is so excellent!
i voted :)
good luck to you FoM i know you will have words of wisdom to speak.
on that rat thing, i think it's hooey, meself. we went over all that posts ago, too. good points JT.
i'm with the church on this one, the argument they give about the use of hallucinogenic tea as opposed to cannabis - that the tea doesn't taste good, therefore....that marijuana is more plentiful, therefore.....
phooey.
when is sense and decency gonna' prevail....i am downright tired of waiting.
tell it like it is, FoM. right on.
[ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #26 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 09:33:48 PT |
| has anybody heard from the museman and the rainbow gathering?
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| Comment #25 posted by Had Enough on July 09, 2006 at 09:32:15 PT |
Congratulations. There you go girl. Have at it. Don’t worry or be nervous. You will handle it well. Fame & Fortune are not what you seek; it is truth you want to teach. For this is why the “spirit” will be with you, and you will do fine. A couple of threads back there were talk of movie stars, directors, musicians, etc… getting together to make movies and documentaries. And today we find this. Coooool… Imagine That!!! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #24 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 09:30:31 PT |
| Do you want me to buy a ticket for the show. I worry about them selling out the last show. It's a present so don't worry about it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #23 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 09:27:52 PT |
| If money is what would keep you from coming here I can fix that. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #22 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 09:23:38 PT |
| Congratulations, FoM, I knew Neil was reading this site. I know you will do us proud. Many Canadian activists are of the opinion that we need to out ourselves to show the public that we are just down-home folks like themselves. This thought is scary for Americans due the the ever oppressive US Jihad against Cannabis. I'm still praying for a miracle that will let me see CSNY on Tue.11.Jul.2006 @ The Air Canada Centre in Toronto. I have the night off, but no tickets. I have worked so far 188 of 189 days this year, not counting later today (189/190). I feel I deserve a break, but unexpected financial emergencies have so far kept me from affording tickets. I've been waiting and hoping for far too long to see Neil Young in concert, and I've decided that this is the year, come hell or high water, and they certainly have been coming of late. If nothing comes through by Tuesday, I may have to join you and Toker00 later this year, in Ohio(?). Thanks for the invite. I have not yet envisioned such a trip due to extreme financial pressures, much as I would like to meet and greet both of you and your families. However, I remain optimistic, dedicated, and thankful to the Creator for the healing herb, this wonderful site (my online family), and the re-awakening of world citizens working to restore the blessings of cannabis to this hurting and confused world. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #21 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 09:23:25 PT |
| It looks like the website you posted in #7 is correct. There's a great poll question on the right-hand side of the page, by the way. Also, global warming is right, I think. If you just talk to the camera as if you were saying something to Neil Young about his album/concert/music you won't go wrong. For one thing Neil will see it and hear what you have to say, so you really are talking to him. And everyone who watches the video will pretty much share the same viewpoint and what you say to Neil is equally appropriate for them, in the same way as we write messages to one another here on CNews which are equally appropriate for everyone here to read. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #20 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 09:07:17 PT |
| Live Review: CSNY in Ottawa *** Icons are forever Young By DENIS ARMSTRONG -- Ottawa Sun
OTTAWA - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have been singing songs that tell American presidents to stop the war for close to 40 years. Back in the late 1960s, it was about getting out of Vietnam. Four decades later, the U.S. is once again in a controversial war, this time in Iraq, and support for the peaceniks is swelling. With all this renewed hippie-friendly sentiment fomenting, and pop music looking backwards anyways, it was a largely fascinating exercise in wishful thinking as the veteran supergroup stirred up outrage and affection in the 12,000 fans attending their Freedom of Speech '06 tour at Scotiabank Place last night. Proof that if you stick with something long enough, eventually it will come back into fashion. Complete Article: http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/07/09/1675272.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #19 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 09:03:52 PT |
| Tell him how much you appreciate his new album, kind of like a video email.. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #18 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 08:59:33 PT |
| This is very hard for me. They put the camera right in your face I was told and the last Neil Young concert I saw when I walked out into the night and it had just snowed while we were in the concert I swear I was floating about the ground. I don't know how much sense I would have made if I had to comment on anything. I was in my own world actually for days! LOL! PS: I didn't drink either! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 08:59:18 PT |
| It took 5 minutes to load, but the wait was worth it! Still 46 % 48 % , Total number of votes 136 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by John Tyler on July 09, 2006 at 08:51:34 PT |
| The Crosby, Still, Nash and Young? You will get to meet the band! This is so great, but I see your dilemma. I know you will make the right decision. Very best wishes. Just voted. The numbers are coming around. 46 to 48. Keep voting. Why are they bothering these people living out in the middle of nowhere, not bothering anybody? What a waste of time and effort. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 08:40:14 PT |
| 43-50 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 08:33:58 PT |
| Thank you. I am really stunned and I need to think this out. I am going to this tour because I want to connect to deep meanings and thoughts about how I feel about where we are now and where we are going. I am spontaneous just ask Whig. LOL! I think I'll be praying about this too. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 08:28:02 PT |
| A couple is claiming they use marijuana for spiritual enlightenment. Does the government have the right to stop them? *** Current Results: No, religious freedom is more sacred than illegal drug laws. 41 % Marijuana is illegal. End of story. 52 % Wait - what was the question? 7 % Total number of votes 115 http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/metro/137087 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by global_warming on July 09, 2006 at 08:23:24 PT |
| here is your chance to express yourself about freedom [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by John Tyler on July 09, 2006 at 08:22:02 PT |
| Amen to the Quaintance and their Church. I know what they are talking about. Sometimes words can't convey the real thing. “It’s all around if we could but perceive”. I say more power to them. And that rat study again… The first thing I learned in college when doing a research paper was to consider the source. First look who is doing it. National Institute on Drug Abuse. What is their angle on this? Their stats might show that (12) lab rats when injected with THC as babies might prefer heroin when they get older. Where did these researchers get this heroin? It’s illegal to possess that isn’t it? Does some pharma make it for them, or did they get it from the DEA evidence room? It’s junk science. They are doing a rigged study to “prove” a preconceived outcome. Similar kinds of studied…. Beer Institute study proves that beer is good food and has no adverse side affects, or Executive Pay Study Group proves that company executives deserve more pay. I have known only two real junkies in the last 35 years. The first person I barely knew. The second person was a friend who got started as an alcoholic, then pain pills, then cocaine, then crack. He started using heroin to take the edge off of the crack and got addicted to the heroin that way. No cannabis involved. Maybe alcohol is the real “gateway drug”. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by unkat27 on July 09, 2006 at 08:18:18 PT |
| I have noticed that this article is reported from AZ, while the case is occurring in New Mexico. From everything I have heard and read, these states have much different stands on the cannabis issue. AZ is extremely fascist, kisses the DEA's ass without question, and has one of the most reactionary right-wing penal systems in the USA. NM, on the other hand, has a strong group of cannabis-friendly people, including some very smart people in the govt who don't blindly let the feds and the DEA control their courts and congress. I'm somewhat confused about the actual location of the church. "Dan Quaintance, 54, says the church has 40 to 50 members in Arizona..." It's my guess that this is the fact that the AZ govt is using against them to exert some cross-state influence to destroy them. AZ has some big vultures who'd love to cash in on some legal land-grabbing and the Quaintances are going to need some of the best NM allies to fight this and win. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 08:17:43 PT |
| I am a little more then stunned right now and I don't know what to do since I am a very camera shy person. I was just asked to be interviewed at the CSNY Freedom of Speech Tour for the documentary they are filming. Oh my what to do. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by mai_bong_city on July 09, 2006 at 08:08:37 PT |
| i'm not sure i get the message here.....what game? how is 'it' over?
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| Comment #7 posted by FoM on July 09, 2006 at 07:49:57 PT |
| I'm not sure if this is the right web site but it's worth a look. http://coc.enlightener.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 07:22:17 PT |
| I have no doubt that what the Quaintances believe is more or less the same as what we do, and they were misunderstood and misquoted to some degree by the reporter. So I won't waste much time trying to disentangle what they meant unless I could read it in their own words. I don't think we are sacrificial lambs in any sense, I do not submit myself to the will of an external God because it is my own responsibility to exercise the will I was given in the way that I can best discern. There is free will and there is a choice of paths, and we are not forced or submitting in any way to take one or the other. That is how I see it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on July 09, 2006 at 06:42:04 PT |
| I think they are saying their bodies (lives) are offered to God, to be used as a vessel for his sacrament, which connects us with Him. Not necessarily sacrificing our bodies for cannabis, but for the Will of God. It is Cannabis that is sacrificed (consumed) not the body. Does that make any sense at all? Toke. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by whig on July 09, 2006 at 06:24:21 PT |
| Amen, Toke. I don't consider use of the sacrament to be sacrifice of my own body, which is something that seemed to be part of the Quaintances' practice but on the other hand the reporter (Stephanie Innes) could easily be misreporting to some extent. I'm totally in agreement that cannabis is spiritual, religious, and this is the fundamental basis which entitles the Quaintances to be given deference and respect. Medical marijuana only goes so far, and recreational isn't really the point of why we want it legal (though a recreational user may discover the medical and spiritual benefits). I believe cannabis is the sacrament, and prohibition denies me the right to practice my religion. Godspeed to the Quaintances. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on July 09, 2006 at 06:16:46 PT |
| In what could be a coup for antimarijuana forces, new research shows that rats exposed to pot's active ingredient at an early age devour more heroin as adults than rats without early exposure. Some experts, though, say the jury is still out on whether the finding is enough to officially label marijuana a "gateway" drug. According to statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, most adults who take illicit drugs start doing so in their early teens. In addition, the earlier kids start smoking dope, the more likely they are to use harder drugs later on. For example, of people who first puffed weed before age 15, 62% went on to use cocaine and 9% to use heroin. But of those who started smoking pot after age of 20, only 16% moved onto cocaine and 1% to heroin. Some researchers think this means that marijuana is a gateway drug--one that leads to harder drug use. Others point out that such a claim is hard to prove because the same factors that lead people to use marijuana in the first place might also lead them to use other drugs. To see through the smoke, neuroscientist Yasmin Hurd, now at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, gave 4-week-old rats THC, the most common psychoactive component in cannabis. The researchers injected the rats with the THC equivalent of about three-quarters of a joint (scaled down for a rat's size) every third day for 3 weeks until they reached mid-adolescence, about 7 weeks old. The dose probably created a mild buzz, but not high enough that the rats stumbled. After a week-long break, the rodents were allowed to self-administer heroin using levers that provide the substance. Rats that had been exposed to THC as "teens" took about 25% more heroin than did their just-say-no peers. Biochemical tests of the adult animals showed that THC-doused brains had the same number of receptors that responded to THC as unexposed rat brains, but more receptors for heroin and more of a compound associated with reward behavior in their neurons, the team reports online 5 July in Neuropsychopharmacology. Whether this indicates marijuana is a "gateway" drug depends on the definition of "gateway," says Hurd. She says both groups of animals took the same amount of time to start taking heroin, suggesting THC use doesn't start them on the path to hedonism, but the THC-primed rats got more into it, suggesting it paves the way for increased use. "The important finding is the fact that adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability to drugs," says neuropharmacologist Sari Izenwasser of the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida, who notes that such behavior may alter fundamental brain processes. But pharmacologist Aron Lichtman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond inserts a note of caution. "The data really are very provocative," he says, but not conclusive. He questions whether other reward-reinforcing behavior, such as eating food, would also be increased under these conditions. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by Toker00 on July 09, 2006 at 05:16:55 PT |
| The Church of Cognizance, which leaders say has 72 monasteries located in members' homes nationwide, has a simple motto: "With good thoughts, good words and good deeds, we honor marijuana; as the teacher, the provider, the protector." "Marijuana is the averter of death," he said. "The energy and spirit that is in marijuana is God. You consume the plant and you consume God. You are sacrificing your body to the deity." "They may take Dan and Mary down but they will never take the church down," Mary Quaintance said. It's a Sacrificial Herb, plain and simple. Thank you God, for Cannabis. Your sweet healing helper. Thank you, God, thank you. All who use cannabis belong to this Church. Looks like we have a Holy Mary, too. :) Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by afterburner on July 09, 2006 at 02:09:10 PT |
| It flies! Aviation history is made by the `flapper'.
"`Perfect day,' says jubilant designer as ornithopter flight caps 30-year dream"
Jul. 9, 2006. 01:00 AM.
DEBRA BLACK,
STAFF REPORTER
http://tinyurl.com/j7czy "Instead of all of this energy and effort directed at the war to end drugs, how about a little attention to drugs which will end war?" -- Albert Hoffman [discoverer of LSD] Fly Lyrics Excerpt: Iiiii just wanna fly (are ya are ya are ya, high, high, high) Put your arms around me, baby x2 Yeahhh Iiiii just wanna fly (like a birdie in the sky up so high) Put your arms around me, baby x2 Iiiii jussssst waaaa(grow your wing and fly)nt tooo fly (uh, whawhawhawha where you want x2) Iiiii jussssst waaaa(spread your love and fly)nt tooo fly (uh, awhawhawhawha where you want) (try, awhawhawhawha will ya?) [ Post Comment ] |
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