Our government creates the terror in order to gain more control over us.

Just don't do it.

And, Rchandar... if your "ambassadorship" to our cause is not working there...if you are constantly being ridiculed for our campaign...don't speak of it to them.

It's "Pearls before swine."

Don't waste your "pearls" on them.

Really. Don't do it.

Don't share what you think with them, if they are acting like that.

It won't do you or them or our cause any good.

Sometimes the best "ambassadorship" for cannabis law reform, is being quiet, not pushing our ideas down other people's throats, and letting our lives speak for us.

Speak once of how you feel about cannabis and the fact that prohibition of the substance causes far more harm than the substance ever could and how you feel about policy reform.

Drop it if they aren't interested. For the sake of your message. Don't act resentful and don't mention it again.

It doesn't mean they won or anything like that. It means you don't give them the opportunity to slander you or your ideas.

Just don't do it.

It won't help us at all and they trample your "pearls" and tarnish your hopes and just generally make you feel bad.

Don't give them the opportunity. Don't put your "pearls" and beliefs out there for them to trample...and they can't.

Many people are searching for someone to put down, make fun of, or humiliate. It makes them feel better about themselves. Give them as few chances as possible to aim their wickedness at you.

Speak once to anyone...ONCE only. If it's rebuffed, so be it. It's their loss. Agree with them and walk away.

That's how I try to handle a situation when I see my offered "pearls" are being trampled. Give them not even one more "pearl". Avoid arguing. It does no good. Don't share your thoughts with people who have ridiculed your ideas.

I'm surrounded by political people. I know better than to try to change their attitudes or ideas with any words I might can muster.

Know when to be silent. Don't play their game. It is a game, for them, whether or not they even know it or not...and the game is to "get you"...as in "Gotcha".

Don't play.

Don't put your toe out for them to stomp on.

Be confident in your beliefs. But don't be surprised if others aren't interested or even nasty about it. Just be the best man you can and let that shine. You don't have to say anything. Just be...and they can see and know and their "crap" is just "crap"...step over it. Walk around it.

Can you move?

That's so terrible.

Don't die.

"Life is hard, but you can do it."

FoM is right about sincerely praying for them. It can make an extraordinary difference. I've seen it happen.

I would hate to live in a city. In the country, I feel I can control a little of who and what is around me.

Listen. That door downstairs, no one ever comes in. No one. We are a pariah people here simply because of MJ. But I don't want to give up fighting for this issue because it's injustice and I've been to court and done probation time; I resented it. Simple rule of fact is that the people who you give money to should show respect; they don't; they're a@#holes. Nothing you can do about it. They ply you and ply you with ? and then yank out the rug when it's all over. And I'm a professor.

But to young people--encouraged, of course, by the cops, by elders with less humanity, to all the people with and without less education, my name has become "masturbator," "faggot," "pussy," and recently "wanker". It isn't just the mob that's doing it to me, clearly it's also the "solid citizens". Can't get a job. Right now I'm sitting across from a thuggish guy whose only talent was that he got a teenage girl pregnant, decided that because he had to change everyone else does. Every day they plaster me with demands to give up this fight. Every miserable day. Then he goes out and slanders me in public, so that other people won't say anything good either.

Not a day goes by in my life when anyone, including my wife, is my friend. No hugs. I made the mistake of being nice to my students--hell, I passed them, and they're getting their degrees solely because of me. Think they care? No, of course not, a sign of weakness, apparently. I live a quarantined life here, fear, hurt, suffering, sadness. Today I will not eat because I don't like people with less knowledge taking my money and insulting me all over again. I have some pride in myself.

I hate Miami; it's a miserable town with no accountability, no values that count for s#$t, and it never ends for me. Miami has also denied me status and respect repeatedly, all my life. Was it so much that I wanted to provide for my wife, to be a good husband? Is it right that she has to go to work knowing that I may never provide or father a child, that I'm a failure? My father is crying; he has lung cancer and it isn't going well. Couldn't people just mind their business, stop picking through the trash to see if there was saliva on pieces of toilet paper? This is a grisly, hopeless place.

Well, f#$k my attitude, I guess. Suicide is painless.

I do hope that you care.

If you really want to smoke something legal, try a little turmeric.

As a taxpaying citizen, I particularly resent our government's assignment of a "drug czar." "Czar"--tyranny, authoritarianism, repression. Even a drug policy which aims at reducing drug use should not be so unbelievably image-blind to even use the word.

Second of all, I fail to see what the "drug czar" does that the other organizations--police, DEA, Customs, Attorney General--cannot do. We don't like any of 'em; still, at least they are elected or supposedly qualified officials rendered not by appointment, but by some form of election.

In other words, it's a meaningless post, meant to produce an environment counter to any discussion. Anyone who looks up the history of the DEA, for example, will find many studies, statements by senior officials, etc. to move away from prohibition. Not to say that the DEA isn't a great evil that terrorizes the public; they do. But in the context of public policy, there is at least some lateral discussion. "Drug Czar" presumes none, and that--not the spread of drugs--is what is unhealthy.

All that being said, there is a very thin facade of truth to the current Drug War in California. True, the Michoacan are dangerous and may misuse public land. True, many people who buy MMJ are not patients, and some become dealers. But I cannot ignore the very real factor of this new leg of the WOD--Bush's ancillaries are using these two developments to pad their dossiers of high-profile arrests, creating a patronage system which is responsible to no one. If Bush were to delegate authority properly, then there would be some room for discussion, some sense that the people were deciding policy, not the oligarchy around the "drug czar." Unfortunately, they have given themselves outright authority which defies precedent and consent.

Yesterday was the first day I went totally without tobacco. I've been cutting back now, for awhile.

Your story was just what I needed, first thing... of the first day. It truly helped me.

When I get to feeling a bit frantic or sorry for myself, I remember that story.

It helps to know that this change of habit really isn't so bad.

Your posting of the story proved to be very timely for me, almost serendipitously so.

Thank you.

Thank u from the bottom of this foxy-hippie's heart.

Yeah basically that was it. I was looking at this article with the standard "pot is baaad, mmm-kay?" speech and I just wanted to add my own personal $00.02 on what REAL drugs do.... not pot. :P

Amazing story and lyrics.

I thought it was something that happened to you, at first.

Lyrics or story...whew...they are terrible, down and dirty and should be vividly enlightening to anyone even thinking of getting involved with the drugs mentioned.

Sorry.

I un-proudly present Lil Whyte's "Oxycontin":

[Lil Whyte] Go on and slip me two Xanax bars, I'm ready to get fool 5th o' crown to wash it down, I'm downtown snappin' rolls Ain't no shame up in my game, in fact I'm mentally deranged Oxycontin in my system, man I'm feelin' kinda strange Watch me choke about this dope, blueberry from Texas You wanna get up in rotation that's too bad 'cause I'm stressin' Right now it's 1:30 a.m., 11 Percocets just entered me 15 min from this second I'll be crawlin' on my knees Laughin' at the crowd of all the clowns that be surroundin' me Take another Lortab to calm me down and let me see Body be relaxed, muscles be loose and you have stopped the pain No more bitchin' 'bout your day at work and drivin' in the rain Put up with the fussin' and discussion I plant in yo brain Hypnotizin' minds like all the rest but I come through the vein Take a chill pill and slow me down to get back in the game Gotta be up on yo P's and Q's to even feel it mane

[Chorus X2] Oxycontin, Xanax bars, Percocets, and Lortabs Valiums, Morhpine Patches, Ecstasy, and it's all up for grab Whatcha want, whatcha need, hit me up I gotcha mane whatcha want, whatcha need, hit me up I gotcha mane

[Lord Imfamous] Scarecrow, Scarecrow what's that ya poppin'? A powerful pill they call Oxycontin But it'so tiny, yeah it got you draggin' Haven't you heard big things come in small packages I prefer the orange ones with the black OC Take two and you cannot move from outcha seat Some people melt 'em down in a needle and shoot 'em up But I pop 'em with Seroquel like glue, I am stuck

[Crunchy Blac] See I'ma pill popper, so I'ma keep poppin' em Gimme 20 Xanax and I'ma start droppin' em They ain't no stoppin' him, when they in my system Mane I really miss 'em, can you help me get 'em I heard you have Clidina, on that fuckin' pill shed Gimme some fuckn Ec' - gimme some Percocets I need me some four bar, so I can break down 'Cause a nigga like me 'finna take it to funky town

"I don't know who put it there,"

Now, to end this long rant, the question has surely come up in your uneducated mind: if one were to go through all the above described hell, why would anyone dare to ever use an opiate again? Well, very good question. And for that question I have an equally good answer. You will use again because, despite all the lessons learned from the physical withdraw, you still aren’t the same at the end of it- you just aren’t “normal”. Yes, the physical symptoms are quite finite and can be mapped accordingly. However, the mental symptoms persist for months.

The everyday becomes mundane.

Conversations are boring at best, annoying at worst.

Friends seem like enemies.

Family seems like strangers.

Everything is melancholy; no joy, no drive, no purpose.

Oh, and the sleep thing- that doesn’t go away for a couple months, either. Even in a state of fully recovered sobriety, you still won’t get more than six hours a night (and that’s a very good night).

"Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare,

And it's just a box of rain, or a ribbon for your hair..."

So months go by, and still, no joy. And finally, you come across your old friend again, and, well- the rest is history. The first time you take an opiate after not taking it for months, you are thrown back into euphoria- you are alive again! Amazing! And of course the fear of withdraw is there, but you also know you can’t get physically addicted from one experience. So, in the beginning, you take it slow. Finally, you’re right back where you started. The hell, complete with its ups and downs, has come full circle.

OK, to finish it all, the above page and a half explains why one doesn’t “just quit”- so if you know an opiate addict, please try your best to understand and not be insulting by suggesting “why don’t you just quit?” because at best you’ll get laughed at, at worst you’ll get slapped. Or, to try and restate my earlier words, “'Just quit?' yeah, right”.

"Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there.."

Wow, that was a rant! Let’s get back to my story.

After a while, (you know, a good ten years or so,) I got very tired of the life. So now I’m maintained on Suboxone, a double-edged sword to say the least.

It takes away the pain and the craving, and even gets you "high", but you are still addicted- just legally, this time. It's very small comfort.

I wander through my days, popping them like the little orange candies that they are, meekly eking out a very fragile and scarred existence. It’s not that I don’t want to be normal again, I do. However, like all things, I understand the greater truth. Better for me to eat a pill each day with a monthly cost of thirty dollars (I have good insurance; some people can’t even afford this stuff,) than to try to get by each day spending close to a hundred dollars a day. Wow, what a world, what a world. So what? How does it all relate? Well, that's easy! Easier than you would ever think.... so easy, I can sum it all up with one simple line from the aforementioned song...

“A Box of rain will ease the pain…”

Wow. Truer words never spoken.

Let me tell you all a little story (this comes straight from my website- you can read about it..)

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT REAL DRUGs, REAL ADDICTION...

this one is called: BOX OF RAIN- CONFESSIONS OF A DEAD HEAD SUBOXONE EATER:

It all started at a very young age. It was directly after my high school graduation. I was enjoying the newfound luxury and freedom of having been a fresh graduate from high school. I was at my friend's house, and my friends disappeared behind the garage. I was already slightly inebriated from the beer, stumbling around drunk and looking for more adventure. When I'd noticed my friends a disappeared, what else to do except to find them. I snuck behind the garage and looked for my friends-there they were, crouched over something shiny and glowing and smiling with a devil’s grin. Obviously curious, I asked them what they were doing. My one friend Mike looked up from his crouching position and answered almost haphazardly, “you know exactly what we're doing- wanna join?” I know that anybody reading this won't believe what I'm about to say I'm going to say it anyways: for the life of me, I honestly thought they were smoking tobacco. It did not seem like a big deal, and even though the pipe they were using was very strange looking, I still thought it was pipe tobacco. Needless to say, after a few hits off of the pipe, I came to the abrupt realization that it was not pipe tobacco, but rather marijuana that was being smoked. The effects were pleasant to say the least, but it was very difficult for me to differentiate the effects of the alcohol and the cannabis plant. The only thing I remember of that night was stumbling home in a semi drunken euphoric state, completely amazed with my experience.

"Look out of any window Any morning, any evening, any day Maybe the sun is shining Birds are winging, no rain is falling from a heavy sky..."

The next day, I woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed. There was a certain afterglow to the experience, not uncommon from the feeling of a hangover, but perhaps without all the negative affects associated with the consumption of alcohol. It wasn't long before I had a deep-seeded desire to try this wonderful plant again. It is actually quite interesting to know that my next-door neighbor had smoked marijuana for many years, and I knew it for years. Ironically, I had always looked down on her for doing so because I considered it a weakness of character. However, after my recent experience, I was interested to try and to visit her side of existence-even if just for a little while. The second time I had smoked cannabis was the first time I was able to really feel the effects, considering that I had no other substances in my body at the time to negate anything that I was feeling. The effects were wonderful! It was a feeling of contentment and relaxation that I'd never before experienced in my life, and I can say, in hindsight, that I was instantly hooked. In fact, I knew that this strange and wonderful plant had some sort of psychological draw to me, and it scared me. Even at age 18, I was very aware of drugs and the depth of addiction potential, and it frightened me away from many experiences early in my life-which is probably for the best. I had been smoking cannabis off and on for about a month, and I came to the realization that perhaps I was developing a psychological addiction to it. I actually managed to quit on my own for fear of actual physical addiction, even though at this time in my life I had no idea what that word meant. It was an awful foreshadowing of the future, because, little did I know, I would soon know all too well, what real physical addiction was. "Walk out of any doorway Feel your way like the day before Maybe you'll find direction Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you"

Let's move ahead about seven years. This was the time when I was getting out of one relationship and moving into another. I had met a wonderful girl named Jenny, or so I thought she was wonderful at the time. Shortly after this relationship began, she had been diagnosed with an intestinal disease, which I knew little about. It was not very long at all before the doctors she was seeing for this condition decided to prescribe her a pain killer known as OxyContin. I will never ever forget the first time I was offered one of these strange small pink pills. When she was started on this medication, she was actually started on an extremely low dosage. At a mere 20 mg, the drug was active in very small amounts. The very first time I consumed one of these strange little pink pills, the only real memory I have of the experience was being thrown into a nauseated state of euphoria. I spent a good part of that day in between trips to the bathroom, but strangely enough, each time I had vomited I did not feel sick or upset to stomach! It was, indeed, a very strange experience-an experience which, out of curiosity and developing physical, physiological, and psychological addiction that I would soon become quite dependent on her prescription. The relationship would meander down for several years, becoming more and more tumultuous with each turn. At the very end of it, and after a very harsh break up on her part, I was left in the state of physical addiction that I'd never before known in my entire life! I was now left in this state of dependency, but the only difference was I no longer had access to her relatively legal and free prescription each month. It was at this time that I was attending school in Kent, Ohio, and it was also at this time that I was turned on to the most addictive drug experience of my entire life-heroin.

"Look into any eyes You find by you; you can see clear to another day Maybe been seen before Through other eyes on other days while going home"

Through the haze of what started as pain pill addiction, I actually remember what happened quite well. I was approached by an African-American gentleman who saw me crouched over and shivering in the corner of one of my friends' house and approached me to take advantage of my situation. Being a dealer, I am quite convinced he knew all too well the physical signs of addiction and withdraw and was able to pinpoint them when he saw the these signs in another human being. I had never met this person before in my life, yet he approached me like a longtime friend. He stated that he had something that could make me better, and offered to give it to me. I told them I had absolutely no money. He smiled, and said that it did not matter. He then preceded to hand me two bindles, or 20 packages, of heroin. I reluctantly took this strange gift, and noticed that attached to this gift was a phone number. This was a phone number that I would come to learn by heart.

"Walk into splintered sunlight Inch your way through dead dreams to another land Maybe you're tired and broken Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear..."

Now let's fast forward another two years. Over this time, I had graduated up from insufflating the heroin (snorting it) to intravenous use (injecting it). It's interesting to note that I've always had a fear of needles, but that's a fear you overcome very quickly when exposed to that level of pleasure. This was an addiction that had stayed with me for many, many years, and I tried to quit it on my own with little success. Sometimes I would manage to overcome the physical addiction long enough, but only to be drawn back into it through the effects of the depressive psychological addiction. It’s interesting to note that despite the hours, (nay, months,) of hellish withdraw I have felt on and off the horse, I really have few regrets about it. Obviously, I am not happy about the time and money I’ve squandered and wasted on this drug, and more so the time I put into acquiring it at felonious risk to me. I was very, very lucky to never get caught with a drug that is the felony of felonies of all drugs. Or, if you will, the "king" of all felonies. By another approach, perhaps it would have been luckier for me to have actually been caught and forced into rehabilitation.

I want to make one point clear: it wasn’t just Oxycontin and heroin that were my abused opiates: it was any opiate I could get my hands on. I know every pharmaceutical opiate by heart, and I’ve used forms of opiates that nobody has even heard of (how many people are familiar with making poppy-bulb milkshakes or acquiring Fentenyl patches and eating the alcohol-laced goo inside to cop a buzz?) Not many, to be sure. It’s not really that I had a need to experiment, but more a need to not be dope sick.

"Just a box of rain, wind and water Believe it if you need it, if you don't just pass it on Sun and shower, wind and rain In and out the window like a moth before a flame" For the non-user, it is very important to explain “dope sickness” so that you can understand. I’ve told a few select people about this, and the most common response is “why don’t you just quit?” Yeah right. Allow me to digress for a moment and explain what is involved in “just quitting”: The first six to ten hours are fine. There is perhaps a little restlessness, but few if any physical symptoms. After about the twelfth hour, a certain uneasiness sets in. When you are experiencing it (especially for the first time,) you can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s almost like you ate something that didn’t agree with you. Needless to say, one becomes very accustomed to “knowing” these symptoms after experiencing them a few thousand times, and predicting the inevitable downfall which is to follow. By the twenty-four hour mark, something truly awful is happening inside you. The first symptoms are mild compared to what is to follow, but still very noticeable compared to straight sobriety. They usually manifest themselves first as yawning and uncontrollable crying. Now let’s be clear: this isn’t crying as in “I’m sad and I’m crying”- emotions have nothing to do with it. This is more like “I have Ebola in my eye sockets and I can’t stop them from bleeding rivers of tears”. This goes on indefinitely. After a while, the yawning can be so violent as to dislocate the jaw. Although this almost happened to me once, (I felt my jaw pop out of and back into place,) I was “lucky” enough to not require hospitalization for this particular symptom. I know I’m putting in a lot of side notes to my story, but I feel it’s important- they say that withdraw from opiates cannot kill you. Coming off alcohol, on the other hand, can be deadly. Now, keep in mind, this fact is very little comfort if you are experiencing opiate withdraws. Moving on, we are now well into the second day. The symptoms of crying and yawning suddenly seem laughable compared to what you are experiencing now. Every bone in your body hurts. It’s like having cancer, but without the cancer. The arms and legs flail wildly, unable to keep still because of the pain and restlessness. And the worst part is every time you try to “shake the pain free”; when your limbs come to rest again it hurts even worse. You can’t sit still for any period of time, so you pace. Then the pacing begins to hurt- bad- so you try to rest again. It’s a perpetual cycle of misery that is unending. And if no “relief” is in sight, you can only count the days, trying to convince yourself that this hell will “only” last a week or two. That is very little comfort when you are actually counting minutes, not days. Let’s move on to the second night. This is the first real night of withdraws. The symptoms described above are mild compared to what is soon to follow. That night, you will experience absolutely no sleep. No, I take that back- you will sleep a little bit- perhaps an hour or two at a time. However, as bad as the waking symptoms are, the “asleep” symptoms are worse. For you see, the physical withdraw is only part of it. "And it's just a box of rain,"

July 16, 2007

But I say, they HAVE to change and aggressively put forth a liberal agenda which would be classic Democrat. The reason I say this is because the world is changing; America is changing. Not really about the economy so much; it's the fact of America's changing ethnic makeup and the potential environmental catastrophes that are taking shape. Three weeks before the election, Kerry went hunting in Ohio. That kinda stuff has got to go, or the Democrats are not helping anybody.

The worst thing that happened when Nixon won the election in 1968 was that "change" became a forbidden platform. Broadly speaking, since then America has "rested on her laurels," completely. The world is changing; other countries are catching up, the immediate threats to global stability are greater, the capacity to receive true information is much greater. The Dems cannot rely on the unionized past, but must become the emissaries of peace and tolerance in a changing world.

America is 30% minorites today. Compare that with 11% in 1968. We are changing the face of American democracy, and demand a new outlook that reflects that change. Should we remain mired in the nobilities of the past, we are done. Chapter closed.

How did Grandma live to be 100 with all her plants in the house? I even used to help her bring plants in during the winter to keep them alive inside her home.

This guy never outgrew the 60s era of lies and propaganda and he thinks the people are too stupid to ever figure out that they lied.

There are hundreds and hundreds of studies from reputable research sources which debunk nearly EVERY myth about ill affects perpetrated by marijuana use - yet this idiot Waters is never brought to task for intentionally misleading the people.

Now he is resorting to crap like "terrorism" and environment, but the fact is their war on marijuana is the attack on the environment - spraying deadly poisons on villages and fields in south america in an attempt to make an entire species of of plant extinct.

The FACT is the that there is only ONE reason that ANY drug money goes to terrorists - because terrorists are the only ones controlling the market. Again, thank this idiotic drug war and morons like John Waters for that. As for domestic "pot crops", this money does NOT generally go anywhere but to an otherwise probably law abiding citizens.

Looks like trouble right here in River City.

nothing.......only hope for a new tomorrow, and the day the majority of baby booming palm-greased conservatives are voted O-U-T OUT.

have you read this story from Cincinnati ? kinda OT but T.

" Hamilton County Municipal Court judge told an angry defendant “F--- you,” an almost unheard of breach of courtroom etiquette.

Judge Ted Berry was responding to the same phrase that was uttered at him by Ivan Boykins, a defendant Berry had just sentenced to spend 30 days in jail after Boykins complained that he didn’t want probation because it would prevent him smoking marijuana.

The American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct does not specifically outline what a judge can and cannot say to a defendant."

I first read this book back in 1991, in a class on "Modern Ideologies" in college. The Iron Curtain had come down two years before.

If you haven't read it, I do encourage you to. If you don't know, Havel was Czechoslovakia's premier dissident during the Soviet Era, and the first ruler of the Czech Republic. I'm encouraging you because Havel really understood the problem of democracy, gave it a very good and inclusive interpretation and study. We in the US could learn a lot from how Havel understands this issue.

And no surprise, possession of small amounts of MJ is still legal in the Czech Republic.

http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/

The war on marijuana consumers was the set-up for the "war on terror." If marijuana prohibition hadn't softened the public up for accepting the crushing of our liberty, the wholesale trashing we are seeing now could not have taken place. The persecution of marijuana consumers still serves as the great domestic front of fascism.

Peace? No one loves peace more than this old hippie, but peace can never exist in a place with no justice.

Thanks.

Even then. Those of us who appreciate peace will have to be vigilant. Always.

Greenfox, I just want to know that you weren't really seriously considering hanging yourself.

Don't run out on us now.

Seriously.

Are you alright?

Giant Marijuana Farm Found 200 Yards From DEA Office

DALLAS -- Drug Enforcement Administration officials discovered a large number of marijuana plants growing in a wooded area near the Trinity River in Dallas Thursday afternoon.

The secret pot farm was practically right under their noses. In fact, if you could walk in a straight line from the riverbank through the marshy underbrush and tangled wilderness, you'd walk just 200 yards before you hit the DEA's office building.

more…

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3753641&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Sure, they want the medical patients out of it. Our medical users are fighting for their very lives.

Sure they want them out of it...they're fighting all this like their lives depend on it... because they do.

But I hope you all will know that knowledge and humanity are not separate concepts; from the beginnings of the annals of time, they are inseparably linked. Many governments throughout history were powerful and tyrannical, none such as the monolith that you all throw your stones at today. It is important to communicate your dissent, to be active in fighting injustice, and to know how much to believe and how much to throw into the sink.

A new tyranny is fostering the rise of millions of monster-humans. Be aware.

The notion of "drug traffickers are terrorists" miffs me, though, it is not acceptable and completely usurps democratic context. It is meant to encourage a culture of defamation, spying, and totalitarian thinking. Any rational-minded American could not really accept it, and Walters is bitter that most Americans recognize that dope smoking involves their neighbor, their son, their best friend--and fortunately, most of them don't want to send all of them to the gas chambers, whatever their disagreements are.

Folks. There's a book out there, read it. It's by Vaclav Havel, called "Living In Truth." Propagandism has a history in the United States, but never before Bush did it command or demand this kind of absolute allegiance to governmental policy. When one has to champion something he/she knows is wrong, put posters on the wall and rehearse slogans as discussion, and threaten or harm otherwise innocent citizens who are doing them no harm, the logic and rhetoric is dangerously close to what was the case in the Soviet Union under Communism. The new laws, including "Amber Alert", are Sovietization: even shelter a drug user, and you could go to jail for 2 years. (In the Soviet Union, it was 3).

No, my friends, the WORST aspect of this regime is its propensity to strip drugs users of any legal protections including the belief that they can live their lives out peacefully. The vast majority of Americans are completely blind to this reality simply because drugs are illegal.

The "dealers are terrorists" statement will not hold; it is impossible for it to hold and NORML's Keith Stroup said so when it was coined. If any of you have watched Mafia films like "Scarface" or "The Godfather", then you know that the government has absolutely no evidence to back what appears to be a very unique trend in drug trafficking. Remember, the films show that mafia dons are influential in the government, the United Nations, etc etc. When the government is desperate to enforce its views, there is the danger that perspective will be permanently lost among the masses; Orwell's discussion of how language and words can be criminalized and doctored to reflect government platforms is a classic example and we should be aware of it. Essentially, the government's plan is to give the public no lateral ground to discuss this issue; that's DANGEROUS, that's UN-DEMOCRATIC, that's TOTALITARIAN.

Always share this awareness with others; they may not be able to say that they agree with you or even see the point of what you're saying, but they will still consider you to be a thinking human being, will maintain their relationships with you, will agree with a majority of your ideas. The legal precedent of Bush's statement is of course atrocious, an atrocity; remember in sum what is happening to our "democracy."

It's not an easy 'game' at all when you gotta have a medicine(s) everyday that costs hundreds of dollars after the gov't illegally stole my pension and medical benefits and numerous business's of mine as well as my passports and Drivers Lic. (since I'd been gone over 5 years I had to start all over again ;) plus fines!

Any of that.

***

July 13, 2007

A Toronto judge has ruled that Canada's pot possession laws are unconstitutional after a man argued the country's medicinal marijuana regulations are flawed.

if I was out in Cali growing outdoors, might have to go into operation shutdown for a while, come back when the smoke clears and salvage what is there.

Islamic terrorists abhor marijuana. In Indonesia a couple of weeks ago, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic terrorist group protested an Indonesian government report suggesting that cannabis be decriminalized. They offered to hunt down marijuana users and put them to death for the government. I think that there was an article about this issue on this site and on norml.org

ONDCP and DEA are really graping at straws. Hopefully no one is taking them seriously. These sort of crazy claims could help us in the end because they undercut the credibility of ONDCP and DEA, at least to the people with half a brain.

[1] California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment .

[3] Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties .

[6] They fund violence and terror," he said .

[10] He called them "violent criminal terrorists."

[12] "We have kind of a reefer blindness,' " he said .

[23] The operation is named after the last major battle between the Roman Empire and the Gauls in 52 B.C .

[24] That battle was won by the Romans .

[30] While Walters didn't give specific goals for Operation Alesia, he said anti-drug agencies aim to cripple the organized crime groups that he said are behind the marijuana cultivation .

[32] Note: Federal official calls marijuana growers dangerous terrorists .

Letter from DEA, LA Field Division, 255 E. Temple St, 17th Fl, LA 90012 (213) 621-6700

The DEA has determined you own, or have under your management or control, a building located at [ADDRESS]. The DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary, [NAME], operating on the property. This is a violation of federal law. Federal law 21 U.S.C. Sec. 56 (a) states:

"It shall be unlawful to knowingly and intentionally rent, lease or make available for use, with or without compensation, a building, room, or enclosure for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance."

Federal law takes precedence over State law. It is not a defense to this crime or to the seizure of the property that the facility operating on the property is providing "medical marijuana" under California law including the provisions of California Prop. 215. Violation of this law is a felony crime, and carries with it a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

In addition, federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances. Specifically, 21 U.S.C. 881 (a) (7) states:

"The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall exist in them: All real property, including any right, title and interest (including any leasehold interest) in the whole of any lot or tract of land which is used in any manner or part, or to facilitate the commission of, a violation of this sub-chapter."

This letter shall serve as notice that, after a thorough investigation, the DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary operating on the above described property. By this notice, you have been made aware of the purposes for which the property is being used. You are further advised that violations of federal laws relating to marijuana may result in criminal prosecution, imprisonment, fines and forfeiture of assets.

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife," How? You mean by planting natural Plants that are good for the soil?

"These lands must be cleaned and restored," What? O_o how were they "unclean"? And how is destroying a natural plant "cleaning" them and saving wildlife?... These DEA monsters go around pulling up plants and setting flame-throwers on them... I know! lets clean up the dirty ditches on the side roads, by planting natural wild plants... like Cannabis.

A few other gems: "Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," "These people are armed; they're dangerous," "violent criminal terrorists."

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/standing/special.html

Got to get back to the garden.

Please. This is ridiculous.... whatever.

Im so sick of this propaganda GARBAGE. It seriously needs to stop.

Notice the small play on "reefer madness" to "reefer blindness" even though it IS madness?!?!

I'm so *** **** angry I can't even ******* type. I quit.

Seriously.

We will have prohibition FOREVER.

Welcome to Nazi ger..er.. amerikkka.

WELCOME.

ENJOY IT.

THEREs literally *****NOTHING****** you can do about it except maybe hang yourself.

Oh well.

peace.

:0)

the Romans are still the Ruling the Land…

and the place is on fire…

Thanks to Americans for Safe Access for this good news!

I hope it's okay to post copy from the article, C-Newsers have something to celebrate, that has ramifications for past elections, and future ones!

Off topic: (Now we know Stick looks like Bob Barr, which is a hoot, I know alot of Bob Barr look alikes, and they're nice guys usually, so who would you compare yourself to FOM?

Not that it matters, but it is fun to have a mental image of him after all these years!

Back to the headline!

Here is the confirmation of what we've suspected for years when it comes to Cannabis and elections, that the results have been altered, rigged, lost, mis-counted etc.

I believe we would be way ahead of where we are if our votes had really been counted over the years, remember the glitch in Nevada's' election a few years ago, and it goes on and on....

Now we have proof, and Diebold is to blame!

Let's get active on this one folks, we can use this example to look at past election results that we suspected were altered, miscounted, discarded, etc.

This is huge for us, Cannabis, and will help get rid of Diebold voting machines.

Let's take this ALL THE WAY to it's logical conclusion, this could help end Electronic Voting machines, and expose the rigged results when it comes to elections that involve voting on Cannabis, and it's illegal status.

Which is illegal in itself, isn't it?

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4811

Judge to Nullify Election Results of 2004 Alameda County Ballot Measure, According to Tentative Ruling County Had Refused to Allow Public Examination of Electronic Votes and Audit Logs on Diebold Voting Systems After 'Numerous Machine Malfunctions' in Medical Marijuana Election...

In Breaking News late this afternoon, we find yet another reason why Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting systems are incompatible with democracy: When an election held on them is contested, the machines themselves --- which are said to hold the ballots internally --- cannot be used in another election until the contest is settled.

Late news this afternoon, sent to The BRAD BLOG moments ago, reveals that a judge in an Alameda County, California election contest is set to rule that a contested ballot measure election from 2004 must now be reheld since the county destroyed data from the election when they sent the Diebold DRE voting systems back to the company in Plano, Texas.

All but 4% of election data, records and audit logs was overwritten in subsequent contests, according to the following release from Americans For Safe Access (ASA) who were the plaintiffs in the contest.

In 2004, Alameda was the same county where it was found that Diebold had installed uncertified hardware and software in the county's voting system. The illegal action by the company eventually led to the decertification of certain Diebold systems in California.

The judge's unprecedented decision to re-hold an election after plaintiffs were denied their right to a proper recount after the county's failure to preserve election records on the Diebold touch-screen systems could have reverberations around the country.

The ASA release explains the astounding details and background in this tale, along with the judge's tentative findings in full... PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release, June 12, 2007

Tentative Ruling Finds that County Officials Destroyed Voting Records from Election Conducted on Diebold Electronic Voting Machines

Election Results May Be Nullified and County Ordered to Conduct Re-Vote on Ballot Measure at Next General Election; Hearing on the Tentative Ruling Tomorrow

OAKLAND, CA – Superior Court Judge Winifred Y. Smith issued a tentative ruling that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters and Alameda County "have engaged in a pattern of withholding relevant evidence and failure to preserve evidence" necessary to conduct a recount of a hotly contested Berkeley ballot measure. As a result, the Court has signaled its intention to void the election and order the County to place Measure R back on the ballot for a re-vote at the next general election.

Judge Smith will issue a final ruling after the Court hears oral arguments tomorrow (Friday, July 13, at 9:30 a.m. at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse, Department 114, 661 Washington Street, Oakland).

"Judge Smith's tentative ruling confirms our contention that Alameda County violated its duty to preserve the critical voting machine data that was the focus of this recount lawsuit and election contest," said Gregory Luke of Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, attorney for the plaintiffs who sought the recount of the vote on Measure R.

NEWS ADVISORY

"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists."

"[They] try to move in under stealth,"

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife,"

"These lands must be cleaned and restored,"

and what the current running democrats said before they were elected;

"This business we intend to put into recession, depression and put its leaders into jail,"

And the truest statement of all;

"We have kind of a reefer blindness,' "

Fear and pride can keep you from seeing what your next step should be.

Shut up with the "FEAR" and let me see where my next step is, without you trying to cripple me with every word that comes out of your terrorist owned mouths.

Besides a stage hypnotist...Walters reminds me of an old medicine man...running around shaking his rattles and getting up in my face with a scary mask and just being a general nuisance, all so he can find a way to "control" me.

Tell me the facts, if you know any....and stop with the "terrorizing" tactics.

Another bushheaded war.

In three words, 'a fabricated lie.'

What is plausible is that when you take people's hard-earned property away from them for being a gardener, they're going to plant their gardens on land that can't be taken away.

Duh, johnny pee. You're a waste of sperm and a poster child for condom use.

Your "spell" is all soggy and wore out...it won't work.