cannabisnews.com: Kerry: End Medical Marijuana Prosecution





Kerry: End Medical Marijuana Prosecution
Posted by CN Staff on January 09, 2004 at 07:49:45 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press 
Manchester — At a campaign stop in Manchester yesterday, Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry told an audience of college students he opposes federal prosecutions in medical marijuana cases in states that have legalized the practice, pledging to reverse Bush administration policy on the issue. More broadly, he said he wanted to wait for the completion of a study to see what other alternatives might be available to medical marijuana before deciding whether to legalize it in all states. 
Asked whether he would repeal federal law that denies federal student loan assistance for individuals convicted of drug offenses, he said it would depend on the offense. “If the offense is use, yes,” he said. But “if the offense is selling, no.” While meeting with workers at Page Belting in Concord, Kerry talked about the need to ensure a working wage for all people. He also called for better disclosure of executive pension plans. Kerry said most companies give little information about these plans, and they rarely get voted on by shareholders. He called for the disclosure of pension package values for companies’ top five executives. The Massachusetts senator also wants to crack down on companies that cloak executive pensions as compensation and then take tax deductions on them. Kerry also said it is essential that retiring employees be given a choice between traditional pension plans and increasingly popular cash-balance plans, which are less expensive for companies but can hurt older workers. Source: Associated Press Published: January 9, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #33 posted by breeze on January 10, 2004 at 01:15:00 PT
Kerry- the terrible
Okay- he is two faced on the issue of Cannabis.Period.
If he wishes to follow a study, there are dozens of credible studies at his disposal already.My question is, if he is for medicinal marijuana, then he should realize that it can be used for a wide variety of illnesses. The common issue here is that if MM is legalized, will the cost of it be greater or equal to that of the street profiers, and if it is, can MM users be prosecuted for buying their medicine on the sidewalk? He should also realize that their are hundreds of different types,flavors, etc of the herb- and that Cannabis is not like a prescription that is measured in doses.Would a person be prosecuted for farming their own medicine?I have frequently heard the argument before that the cannabis of today is a lot more potent than that of the 60's/70's - but the person "trying" to make this argument as a negative profile of cannabis fails with this type of thought, because the more powerful the cannabis, the less the patient has to use to reach the desired effect.So, in ending my comment on this subject- IF he is willing to review the subject, which he hasn't done until now (as he is obviously desperate for votes)- why can he not see the obvious economical positives in legalization of cannabis for recreational and medical purposes? The pharmaceutical companies put alcohol in some forms of cough meds, but beyound this, alcohol has no medicinal properties what so ever, often just the opposite, no matter what is said about two beers or one glass of wine a day being good for your heart. This issue has always sounded to me like justification for encouraging alcohol usage, and when the government says something is good for you, I tend to be wary. Just like the recent flu epidemic and everyone was out to get shots that did not work against this particular strain. Until recently , fish was good for you, but now we have to worry about mercury levels in the fish. And because of who? Industry- who basically own the government. 
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 16:12:33 PT
Virgil
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
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Comment #31 posted by jose melendez on January 09, 2004 at 16:04:14 PT
see also:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/319/ssdpcc24k.shtmlOhio Congressman Dennis Kucinich: "We asked him about the drug war, and he expressed his opposition to it and how it has been waged and said we had to reexamine the way we dealt with drugs. He also said he favored marijuana decriminalization. He also showed up at the last minute at a dinner we had; he popped in and talked to us for about 15 minutes. He thanked us for our support, and supported our HEA repeal efforts. He's our champion among the candidates."Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun: "We asked her about HEA, which she didn't totally understand, but she did express her concern about filling the prisons with nonviolent offenders. But later, as she was walking out, I asked her again about HEA. This time, she said she thought it was a terrible law and she was against it. That is a firm affirmation that she is for repeal."Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry: "SSDP board member Ian Mance asked him about HEA, and Kerry didn't seem totally familiar with the issue. He asked if it applied to both possession and distribution and when told yes, said he would favor repeal only for possession. He wanted to remain tough on drug dealers, he said. I caught up with him later and asked if he really wanted to punish people by withholding student loans after they had already been punished and when judges already had the option of doing so if they wanted. Was he against judicial discretion? He didn't really answer that except to say that in general judges should have discretion."Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman: "He called on me, and I asked him about the drug provision and what he would do to work for repeal. He hemmed and hawed a little and asked me to repeat what the provision does, then he said he didn't think we should be punishing people who have paid their debt to society. He ended saying he would give a tentative yes to repeal, he would support it. He is perhaps the most conservative of the candidates, so that was a big surprise."Question and answer sessions with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, retired general Wesley Clark, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards are set for Friday,snip
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Comment #30 posted by Virgil on January 09, 2004 at 15:44:20 PT
Yoko Ono says 
"The opposite of love is not hate, but fear. And fear kills love in a way, you know...The opposite of wisdom is not stupidity, but confusion." - http://www.weeklydig.com/dig/content/5365.aspxSorry, but now you are going to be dumped on.The greatest sin GOSSIP.The greatest crippler FEAR.The greatest mistake GIVING UP.The most satisfying experience DOING YOUR DUTY FIRST.The best action KEEP THE MIND CLEAR AND THE JUDGEMENT GOOD.The greatest blessing GOOD HEALTH.The biggest fool THE MAN WHO LIES TO HIMSELF.The greatest gamble SUBSTITUTING HOPE FOR FACTS.The most certain joy in life CHANGE.The greatest joy BEING NEEDED.The cleverest man THE ONE WHO DOES WHAT HE THINKS IS RIGHT.The most potent force POSITIVE TBINRING.The greatest opportunity THE NEXT ONE.The greatest victory VICTORY OVER SELF.The greatest handicap EGOTISM.The most expensive indulgence HATE.The most dangerous man THE LIAR.The most ridiculous trait FALSE PRIDE.The greatest loss LOSS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE.The greatest need COMMON SENSE. 
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Comment #29 posted by jose melendez on January 09, 2004 at 15:26:08 PT
Kerry communicates in 2 words: legalize, wait
 from: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n048/a03.html?397 . . . At about noon, as hundreds of students waited for Kerry to appear at the hotel, the senator's young supporters lined the entrance to the Armory conference room, shouting "Go, Kerry, Go!" At a table near the front of the room, a group of students from Brown University in Rhode Island talked about their involvement with Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization that focuses on trying to reform the laws that decide punishments for drug users.  In particular, the group criticizes the number of young people put in jail for drug offenses, the incomplete drug education in high schools and the law that forbids convicted felons to vote, even after being released from prison. "It's really a racist and classist issue," said Brown student Diana Tamir.  "The more I heard about the war on drugs, the more I realized it was a dismal failure." When Kerry entered the room, Tamir and her friends were ready.  They listened to him talk about his student loan pay-down plan, his $4,000 college tuition tax credit and his hopes for their generation. "We need now, more than ever, to get your energy back," Kerry said.  "Stand up and get involved and show the courage I know you have." As soon as Kerry paused, a few dozen students held their hands up.  One asked him the question about the Higher Education Act drug provision, the same question someone would pose to Lieberman later that day.  The crowd loved Kerry's answer: Former convicted drug users who had served their sentences would be eligible for student loans during his presidency. Kerry also told the audience he would not appoint any Supreme Court Justices who would endanger Roe v.  Wade, nor would he favor prosecuting people who used marijuana for medical reasons.  He wanted to expand the Peace Corps and make the war on terrorism more than just a "war of ideas." When asked how he would persuade college students to become more active in their own government, Kerry's answer was automatic. "I want you to feel the power that you really have.  It was college kids who got on buses and went to break the back of segregation in America," he said.  "My campaign is fueled by young people." see also: http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4101890Former Treasury Sec. Paints Bush as 'Blind Man'
                                                      Fri January 09, 2004 10:41 AM ET                                                                                               WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill likened President Bush at Cabinet meetings to "a blind man in a room full of deaf people," according to excerpts on Friday from a CBS interview.                                          O'Neill, who was fired by Bush in December 2002, also said the president did not ask him a single question during their first one-on-one meeting, which lasted an hour.                                          "As I recall it was just a monologue," he told CBS' "60 Minutes," which will broadcast the entire interview on Sunday.                                          In making the blind man analogy, O'Neill told CBS his ex-boss did not encourage a free flow of ideas or open debate.                                          "There is no discernible connection," CBS quoted O'Neill as saying. The president's lack of engagement left his advisers with "little more than hunches about what the president might think," O'Neill said, according to the program.-snipped
restore Peace
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Comment #28 posted by yippierevolutionary on January 09, 2004 at 15:24:07 PT
If the Bush Crime Family wanted to me to go to Raq
I would paraphrase Cassius Clay "I ain't got nothing against them Iraqis" I would rather spend five years in jail than the rest of my life in shame. In a class I was in I overheard some girl talking to her friend about her brother coming back from Iraq. What I heard shocked me. "He killed twenty-seven Iraqi's and he took pictures of every single dead one"
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Comment #27 posted by jose melendez on January 09, 2004 at 15:12:26 PT
re: goneposthole #26
Those listed countries seem to rich in resources. The common denominator(s) seem to be oil and the economy*. I'm not surprised Kerry is waffling on this issue. Al Gore's been awful quiet also.Maybe they really are all crooks. Amazing, deficiencies in the legally permitted diet which could be satisfied safely with green seed bearing herb are forbidden to be addressed without risk of arrest. (barely related random thoughts: I wonder;1. have the Canadians figured out yet that their legal hemp seed ought to replace ruminants in order to allay mad cow fears that affect their industries?2. Have U.S. companies always known this could be true for both human and livestock troughs?)*Oil and the economyhttp://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_iran.htmhttp://www.globalpolicy.org/security/docs/minindx.htmhttp://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/http://www.marijuana.com/article.php?sid=4144http://www.cbc.ca/news/iraq/players/iraq_neighbours.htmlhttp://www.cfr.org/background/background_iraq_thecountry.php
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Comment #26 posted by goneposthole on January 09, 2004 at 14:36:31 PT
it just doesn't make any sense
war in Afghanistan, Iraq and rumblings of war in Syria, Iran, North Korea and you name the place. Always an evil that the do-gooders must un-do.It would be comical and funny if it were not so stupid.Then, cannabis is a danger to the fabric of society. It funds terrorism and a untold plethora of ills and afflictions. No doubt about it. However, wage and conduct war on anyone who gets in the way of profits and greed. Unlimited hogwash until the evil-doers won't have it.For years the Republicans trashcanned the Democrats for spending too much of the taxpayers money and how the Democrats knew nothing other than taxes. Now the Republicans' have power in both houses of Congress and have spent the US government into the poor house. Mandated legislation has now replaced taxes with 'fees'. A more insidious way to dig into your pocket.Global empire can't be afforded and is hardly a respectable goal.When it all crashes and burns, George Bush will be even more dazed and confused than he already is. That won't take much.Cannabists want to be left alone and lead a life unencumbered from the daily grind. An ugly picture of cannabis as being bad is always painted by the ONDCP.The US gov. invades countries worldwide, either by hook or by crook, and tries to paint the illusory picture of it being all good. The jig is up.
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Comment #25 posted by E_Johnson on January 09, 2004 at 14:28:36 PT
I have a true story kaptinemo
During the final days of Perestroika in 1989, Soviet scientists were visiting America in droves. One of them was invited to dinner at a restaurant. He rented a car so that he could see the real Los Angeles by himself.He arrived a half hour late, in a frazzled state. We asked him what upset him so much."I discovered that in America, the black people really do live in ghettos and suffer from poverty. I am completely amazed that something my government told me turned out to be true. It's going to take me a while to recover from the shock."
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 14:20:48 PT
Why Are They Afraid?
All the political leaders profess God. You'd think they wouldn't have anything to be afraid of! Getting on into Glory Land should make them say thank goodness it's about time. For a country that says they love God they sure don't want to go see him first hand.
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Comment #23 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 14:11:00 PT:
FoM, it's fear and hatred of The Other
I have mentioned, only half jokingly, of 'caveman logic'. Those suffering from it generally have the same symptoms: What they don't understand, they fear. What they fear, they want to control so it can't make them afraid. What they can't control...they want to destroy. And that which is 'alien' to their experience is ALWAYS threatening.The problem is, we are all 'aliens' to each other, all different. That's why language is so important, to diffuse that fear and promote that understanding. Living on a city block with kids from all over the world made that point indelibly in my mind.But...to paraphrase Upton Sinclair in his book, THE JUNGLE, when a man benefits from not understanding, he'll do his damnedest to be dense about it. I have spoken with Russian emigres at my present workplace ("Yah govoryu po-russki nymenogo" - I speak a little Russian) who had related to me after they got to know me better their very real fears in their younger life that the *US* would be an aggressor in any war with the Sovs. Many really did believe that.*We* US soldiers were always taught it would be the *Sovs* who fired first. Many years later, neither the emigres nor I could see why. They had nothing against me, nor I against them. It's governments run by what are originally thought of as 'smart' people but who turn out to be instead *crazy* people that make the messes, and folks like us that have to clean them up. Like the DrugWar. 
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 13:45:44 PT
Who Has The Biggest Gun
Maybe it's a man thing but it seems that having the biggest gun seems to make some men in power feel better then others. They did talk about how close we were to war and the Cuban Missile crisis. I remember I thought well we might all be dead soon. My family talked about it as I can recall.PS: I can kill you better then you can kill me mentality is what I don't get and never did.
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Comment #21 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 13:39:31 PT:
FoM, there's more to it than that
Castro had Russian tactical nukes on Cuban soil ready for any amphibious assault vessels closing in on his beaches, and was pressuring Krushchev to him use them if any US fighter craft came over the horizon.Our own military suspected that strategic nukes were on the missile platforms, but knew nothing about the smaller and more mobile ones on the anti-ship missile batteries on the coast.We were a lot closer to Armageddon than many historians will comfortably admit.Always, the armchair chickenhawk 'warriors' try to play their games, treating people like chess pieces, and little people like us get whacked and never know why. It's time to send these goofs in 'War'-shington packing.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 13:27:23 PT
kaptinemo 
Last night my husband and I watched a show on the History Channel about Cuba, JFK, and a lady that I can't remember her name. It seemed like if JFK hadn't been assassinated that things could have worked out between the US and Cuba. In the end the lady killed herself. It shows how one person that listened to the other side could have been a tool in bringing peace. She wasn't being unamerican either. She wanted peace that's all.
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Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 13:23:12 PT:
Virgil, I can't thank you enough!
If the PDF file you published the link to here is not a 'smoking gun' to prove as concretely as possible that we were lied to about Gulf 2 and *how*, it's at least one with a red-hot barrel, scored bolt and an empty magazine. 'Circumstantial evidence' enough for this old ex-grunt. And this done by a military man. Oo-rah! for Col. Gardiner! I hope Col. 'Hack' Hackworth has seen this...
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 13:11:26 PT
Nuevo Mexican 
I couldn't get this poll last night but just voted. I am really surprised at the results.Does Rush Limbaugh, America’s most famous drug addict, deserve a taste of his own medicine? 
 
Rush Limbaugh’s addiction should be a private matter - he should be left alone -- 31.78%                                                   
 
Rush Limbaugh should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of current drug laws -- 65.50%                                                   
 
Not sure -- 2.72%                                                   Total votes: 7098 
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Comment #17 posted by Nuevo Mexican on January 09, 2004 at 13:00:40 PT
Looks like you belong to the Party 'Party' FOM!
The only party that I belong to as well! LOL!Here are some outstanding articles on Dennis, the man who forced Kerry to speak on Cannabis, and who will have to make more noise now that it is on peoples 'radar' screens.Kucinich: 'Anger' doesn’t work“Anger is not sustainable. You have to really provide people with hope. There is no crossover from anger to hope,” Kucinich said, saying a short time later, “This is where I think Democrats make a mistake — in just trying to tap anger. Where does it go? What do you stand for beyond that?” http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=31316Kucinich: Creating the Voice for PeaceLast Saturday night, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson supplied one very good reason to vote for Dennis Kucinich for president: bringing those two to D.C. to sing duets at the inauguration. Among many other tunes, the headliners delivered an engaging version of "Trying to Get Over You" Saturday night at the Austin Music Hall, as the Kucinich forces wrapped up a two-day local tour, during which the candidate filed for the Texas primary, raised money, fired up his supporters, and spoke out for peace on the steps of the Capitol. Indeed, "Peace" was the keynote of the weekend, not only in the new campaign song by Nelson, "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth?" -- composed, he said, on Christmas Day -- but in the dominating theme of the candidate's talks throughout his visit. "I am going to make the war in Iraq the defining issue of this race," Kucinich told reporters after a Saturday morning forum at the Texas AFL-CIO headquarters on Lavaca. http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-01-09/pols_feature3.htmlFirst Ever National Referendum on the Fate of Rush Limbaugh 
 
WASHINGTON - January 8 - Since October 2003, when police discovered records of Rush Limbaugh illegally purchasing tens of thousands of narcotics, the question has been: will Rush Limbaugh be prosecuted? The jury’s still out, but the Drug Policy Alliance has created an opportunity for people to weigh in on the radio jock’s fate before the judge does: the first ever nationwide referendum on Rush, which asks participants whether Rush Limbaugh should be put behind bars or left alone. 
 
http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0109-04.htmTake the animated poll on Rush: 1500 have in the first two hours!http://www.drugpolicy.org/rush/The Story Behind Saddam's Arrest 
by Ritt Goldstein 
 
STOCKHOLM - U.S. accounts have portrayed Saddam's capture as a triumph of their high-tech innovation and old-fashioned ingenuity, but reports in the Middle East and off-the-record interviews reveal a version of events decidedly different from those already known. 
 
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0109-03.htmFrom Fords Hemp Car, to becoming the biggest terrorist of the planet:Call to Action: 
Declare Energy Independence! 
End US Oil Addiction! Demand Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Clean Buseshttp://jumpstartford.com/action/If you even read Cannabis News, you are a suspect!Big Brother At The Airport 
We didn't know 9/11 terrorists were left-wingers The American public will probably never know why anyone would want a digital eye scan of Doug Stuber on record. The Secret Service agents who detained Stuber at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in October wouldn't tell him why they refused to allow him to board a flight to Hamburg, Germany, either. But he says they were very interested in his political leanings, in particular his stint as Ralph Nader's North Carolina Green Party presidential campaign chairman in 2000. http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/newsstand/2002-12-11/news_citizen.htmlHow the Mighty Wurlitzer shapes opinion, and how we counter it here at C-News! Free Speech is the ultimate weapon against Facist Repuglicanism, as libertarians have left the Party!The Domination Effect:In the past, propaganda involved managing the media. Information dominance, by contrast, sees little distinction between command and control systems, propaganda and journalism. They are all types of "weaponized information" to be deployed. As strategic expert Colonel Kenneth Allard noted, the 2003 attack on Iraq "will be remembered as a conflict in which information fully took its place as a weapon of war". http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1118402,00.html
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Comment #16 posted by john wayne on January 09, 2004 at 12:44:43 PT
kerry shows what candidates do when desperate:
They might even make a nod towards drug war sanity.Oh, the humanity!
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 12:28:31 PT
Right Wing Republicans
I am no party. I never have been and I never will be. I find both republicans and democrats are just right and left hands of the same twisted body. I do believe in some things though. Right Wing people are suppose to be the "Holy" ones but what they believe and what agendas they push are the opposite of what their religion or at least the Bible commands. The Bible says to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless etc. I don't believe those commands are important to them. What the heck is the religious right then?
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Comment #14 posted by Virgil on January 09, 2004 at 12:19:50 PT
pseudo-conservatives
There is nothing conservative about the Republican Party. Fascist is more appropriate by far as one is false and one is true. Why do you not here the term pseudo-conservative in the media. Actually, I never read it before and just now did a Google on the term. People are being called like dogs with"Here conservative, Here conservative." It is just marketing like the car ads that always say prices will never be lower. Come on down. I will cut your taxes. What needs cutting is spending and taxes will follow. You do not cut taxes and raise spending and invent terms such as a jobless recovery. People are just soooooo stupid. Kapt- something on Iraq and misinformation. It is 55 pages long, but anyone that turns down that rerun for knowledge and perspective can work a scan in at least- http://www.rationalrevolution.net/truth.pdfThe biggest reality to come to is that the United States Government is the biggest drug dealer in the world. All prohibition is about is keeping up the price and determining the flow of profits. 
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Comment #13 posted by goneposthole on January 09, 2004 at 11:57:11 PT
not Republican Republicans
What speaks volumes of the hollowness and shallowness of the present members of the Republican party is this: None, no one fellow Republican, are throwing their hats into the ring to seek the Republican nomination for President. They, the fake Republicans, are content at handing the nomination to George Bush on a satin pillow. The phoniness of it all sinks their credibility to new lows.I have foolishly voted Republican in the past, but never again.I thought that I should remain faithful to my grandfather who was one rockribbed, dyed-in-the-wool Republican.
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Comment #12 posted by SystemGoneDown on January 09, 2004 at 11:43:12 PT
E_Johnson
Of course pot-heads spice up life. That's what makes weed so compatible with life in our modern world. We work 40 hours a week without really assessing what that 40 hours is for. The idea of freedom to spend or put your money to whatever you want is well instilled in every Amerikan mind. But indirectly, we lose sight in our buisy life. We lose track of appreciation of what we already have. Amerikans have difficulty in distinguishing what is Need.....and what is Want......and what is a Needed Want. In our world of mass technology and architecture, life is already certain. With all that is around us, people's sense of what is real in their minds and what is not is becoming blurry to the point of depression and sense of being lost...Cannabis' blessing re-assures that nothing is real. Your 5 senses are altered to show you what is capable of being felt. Calling somebody weak-minded for smoking herb is just ignorant. Weed is not addictive to your body, which is great. It's addictive to the mind, but that is not a danger to society. No one's willing to steal just for weed. Once everyone learns that weed is a wanted preference lifestyle and not a NEED, the sh it will become liberated, legal or not.
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Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 11:40:06 PT:
Something I think many should read
Many who know me through the CNEWS commentaries know that I am an unabashed Libertarian. I've explained before that as such, some might say, DESPITE such, I am working for and voting for a Dem, Mr. Kucinich.As you might gather, I am not the only one doing so:Conservative Crack-Up
Will libertarians leave the Cold War coalition?
By W. James Antle III
http://www.amconmag.com/11_17_03/cover.htmlFrom the article:*Libertarians have not limited their support to third-party efforts. Some have begun contemplating support for a Democratic presidential candidate to oust the Bush-Ashcroft Republicans. The antiwar Howard Dean appears to be the favorite. Already a Libertarians for Dean blog site debating the merits of libertarian support for his candidacy has been set up on the Web. While a Libertarians for Clark Web site appeared and quickly dissipated following Wesley Clark’s declaration of candidacy, the Dean site is still going strong with those posting on it inclined to support him. The liberal American Prospect ran a piece by Noah Shachtman on its Web site citing several prominent libertarians, including Reason assistant editor Julian Sanchez and Cato Institute senior editor Gene Healy, at least willing to contemplate a vote for Dean over Bush. Even libertarians less inclined to vote Democratic have been talking about tactical alliances with the Left. One example is Reason’s science correspondent Ronald Bailey, who devoted an entire article to his decision to join the ACLU.*The basic thrust of the article is what has been stated, here and elsewhere, many times before: What passes for 'conservatism' really isn't, anymore. If it ever was. It isn't even 'new'(neo)conservatism, but just another form of Big Government rifling your wallet...and threatening your health, freedoms and sanity to boot. Many traditional or paleo-conservatives are completely disgusted with what has been done in the name of conservatism, and are looking to move their political energies elsewhere. For those who are thinking, "So what?", consider: *NEARLY ALL* of the philosophical underpinnings of the Republican Party of old WERE LIBERTARIAN IN FOCUS. Limited government. Tax reduction across the board, not just for the rich. Throwing the War on (Some) Drugs in the dumpster of failed social policies. Getting Uncle out of your bedroom, your wallet, and off your back. You get the picture. All the things Republicans have been giving lip service to and being elected on a platform of promising to implement...but never seem to do.In other words, the Reps have abandoned the core of their party, their own ideological foundations, by their *de facto* jettisoning of those core principles to pursue the Imperialist agenda of the falsely labeled NeoCons. Which is diametrically opposed to the most deeply held tenets of most Libbers.In my heart and mind, I am still a Libber. But that monster in the White House and his coterie of silver-spoon fat-cats must be removed, and not just replaced with another perfumed, sanctified and processed cookie-cutter servant of special interests, either. It is not being melodramatic to state that nothing less this nation's survival is at stake. I've no faith in the Dem 'front runners', as they have too many ties to those special interests and non-governmental organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations to be trusted. Many, Like Mr. Kerry, are only now speaking out against injustices that they have HELPED PERPETUATE IN THE PAST THROUGH THEIR CRAVEN, SILENT ACQUIESCENCE. Kucinich has been up-front in his statements, and his past is enough proof of his intentions. That's why I am working for him.I hope that other Libbers will read these words and realize that in the interest of making sure that there continue to BE an 'America', a mass exodus of Libbers from the Republican Party take place. By politically 'voting with their feet', a message will be sent to those who have previously taken our support for granted. Namely, that there is a price to pay for neglecting YOUR core support in favor of the fat-cats.
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Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on January 09, 2004 at 11:29:42 PT
Castillo statement
I just read the Castillo statement and if that isn't enough to make you sick to your stomach, I don't know what is. Airtight firsthand evidence of DEA collusion in drug trafficking, corruption and murder, and no one is interested. The DEA is too corrupt to investigate itself, and other agencies and branches of the US government to deep in it or too deep in denial to look at it. They're just as dirty as any of the "banana republics" they blame this stuff on, and yet they keep up the facade, year after year, while people die, while they spray carcinogenic poisons on innocent campesinos, sentence their children to birth defects and cancer and probably the parents to cancer and disease also. And for WHAT? Money, power, influence? These people---DEA and all their ilk---are evil. They do NOT serve the people of the USA, they serve their own bloody, money-hungry agenda and this nation will not be healed until these criminals are hauled out from the shadows in handcuffs, dragged into the light of REAL justice, their crimes against humanity exposed for all to see, convicted and sent to the same prison where they like to send their victims, and this RICO crime-comitting, criminal cabal disassembled FOREVER.
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Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on January 09, 2004 at 10:49:37 PT
RANT: Just ask, 'Are YOU a crook, John Kerry?'
"“If the offense is use, yes,” he said. But “if the offense is selling, no.” "-2004 Presidential candidate John KerryOh, please. As if giving marijuana away would incur zero penalties. I think not Mr. Kerry. You'd better start explaining why you continue to support this drug warrior pork barrel malarkey when your own commission concluded:"There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region.... -U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua.... -In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. gove(r)ment had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.... -Senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems." (Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, a Report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and Intemational Operations, 1989)*Nixon said America's got to know if their President is a crook. Neo-Cons running for office ought all be asked, "Are you a crook?" Do you accept huge political contributions from manufacturers whose poisons harm the planet and We the People?poison is legal, just not potJM"Some people have asked, "Why I am doing this? I reply, "That a long time ago I took an oath to protect The Constitution of the 
United States and its citizens". In reality, it has cost me so much to become a complete human being, that I've lost my family. In 
1995, I made a pilgrimage to the Vietnam Wall, where I renounced my Bronze Star in protest of the atrocities my government had 
committed in Central America. I have now become a veteran of my third, and perhaps most dangerous war --- a war against the 
criminals within my own Government. Heads have to roll for those who are responsible and still employed by the government. 
They will be the first targets in an effective drug strategy. If not, we will continue to have groups of individuals who will be beyond 
any investigation, who will manipulate the press, judges and members of our Congress, and still be known in our government as 
those who are above the law.  "                                                -                                   Celerino Castillo III  from: http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:yEwHAas9t6kJ:www.akha.org/humanrights/drugwar/ciadeahorn1.htm(remove any spaces between '=' and 'cache' to see above link, it may not stay up long)In the interests of outing national security fraud and wishing I had the good sense to truncate my arguments about such extrajudicial crimes more concisely, I post the following reference links:* http://www.drugwar.com/pBeersDeposition.shtmhttp://www.wethepeople.la/kerry.htmQuick insight into my thoughts:Ghandi** once led an overthrow of a monopoly in salt. Our U.S. law lists cannabis salts as contraband. If we could grow crystals that contained zero thc, the 'grains' might be helpful to expose the unconstitutionality of that law, which was passed via deception, fraud and perjury, as is clear in the congressional testimony:http://www.electricemperor.com/eecdrom/HTML/EMP/04/ECH04_10.HTMtech abstract on cannabis salts:http://mycorrhiza.ag.utk.edu/latest/latest03/03_10citte1.htmsee also:http://pwp.netcabo.pt/r.petrinus/plantsalt-e.htm** http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Dandi.html - - - Steve Tuck or Mark Emery especially please note the above two links.
How to achieve World Peace
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on January 09, 2004 at 10:49:21 PT
Potheads replace dog in movie
This is from a review of the new movie Chasing Liberty, starring Mandy Moore, whose previous movie "How to Deal" featured as comic relief a lovable old medical marijuana using granny." "Chasing Liberty" puts aside time for the agents Weiss and Morales to have a similar romantic squabble, unable to express their adult feelings. And like their youthful charges, they have just as little chemistry. But a likable, obviously substance-addled backpacker (Martin Hancock) ? a Scottish version of Shaggy from "Scooby-Doo" ? brings some energy to the film when he elbows his way into Anna and Ben's trip."So the writer notices the romance is boring and writes up a pothead to accompany them so that the audience will like them again?What psychotic culture we have. Potheads are the demons, the plague, the threat to order and decency, but also the comic relief, the touch of humanity, the ones who get the audience to care about the story when the energy goes flat?In movies of the past, writers would have a boring couple acquire a cute dog. In this movie, they acquire a cute pothead instead. Isn't that charming?Her objective in the film is to get to the Love Parade in Berlin BTW. She's the President's daughter, running away to the Love Parade!He must be the President who was elected after the one who led America's fight against the invasion from Mars. 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 09:52:45 PT
kapt
Thanks! It seems to be working ok for me now. Knock on wood! I've been having trouble for a day or two. I thought it was my computer. Now all I need is some news to post!
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 09:47:37 PT:
I'd had that happen today, too
'Puters are made in Man's image; any wonder when they futz up? (Grin)
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 09:39:44 PT
Virgil
I'm glad I'm not the only one that had that error message. I'm never sure if when I have problems it's a bug or what.
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on January 09, 2004 at 09:36:35 PT
Chat on a new NarcoNews at NYT forums, Monday
Cnews system had reached maximum users at 50. I had to wait in line to be on line.January 9, 2004
Please Distribute WidelyDear Colleague,We're gearing up, investigating and reporting stories, meeting with our 
Authentic Journalists around the hemisphere, and coming closer to the 
day, 
very soon, when Narco News begins publishing again. That's when we'll 
unveil 
the all-new interactive online international newspaper of the future, 
too.Meanwhile, we want your input and participation. So we have accepted an 
interesting invitation for Monday night, January 12th, at 9 p.m. 
Eastern 
Time, at a perhaps unlikely online location, where we'll be chatting, 
live, 
with you…>"The Drug Policy Forum of the New York Times-Online has invited Al 
>Giordano, publisher of NarcoNews.com to be its guest on Monday, 
January 
>12th. Also present for this live online press conference will be 
Andrew 
>Grice, treasurer of The Fund for Authentic Journalism>"The ongoing series of invitees includes judges, governors, authors 
and 
>dozens of other guests speaking about the 89-year-old war on drugs. 
These 
>online discussions were initiated by the forum participants and are 
>arranged through the auspices of the New York Times, the Drug Truth 
Network 
>and the host of the Cultural Baggage radio show, Dean Becker.>"Mr. Giordano will be online at 9 PM EDT for approximately one hour. 
We 
>invite your participation.>"(A transcript of this discussion will be stored on the forum 
website.)"Joining us, also, will be Andrew Grice, treasurer of The Fund for 
Authentic 
Journalism, and some of our Authentic Journalists from throughout a 
country 
called América.We'll be offering news reports and commentary, and fielding questions 
about 
current events regarding the drug war and democracy in Latin America, 
plus 
elaborating more on our plans - and soliciting your ideas - for the 
re-launch of Narco News in the coming weeks.If you already have a NY Times online account (it's free), simply go to 
this 
link at 9 p.m. ET on Monday:http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/national/drugpolicy/index.html?page=recentIf you don't yet have one, you can sign up for one here:http://www.nytimes.com/auth/loginIn the meantime, if you would like to submit questions in advance, just 
email me.From somewhere in a country called América,Al Giordano
Publisher
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com
narconews hotmail.com
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on January 09, 2004 at 09:26:05 PT:
Kerry's looking over his shoulder
at Kucinich and the groundswell of support evidenced by so many people around the country, the politically disaffected, the 'recipients' of this Republcan sired 'jobless recovery' who've seen their hopes and dreams dashed to pieces, who are hopping mad about how the DLC has hijacked the ideals of the Dem Party and replaced them with Republican Lite...and know who to blame.Sorry, Mr. Kerry, but you lost any legitimacy in my eyes when you failed to pursue the results of your famous (or infamous, depending upon viewpoint) commission to it's logical conclusion. Namely, the arrest of the Iran/Contra heads for illicit drug trafficking. If you're so concerned about illicit drug 'sellers', Mr. Kerry, well, you had a chance to nab some very, very big fish...and you practically ripped a hole in the net and let them swim away, to create worse problems. And through your inaction added to the misery of the cocaine wars of the 1980's and early 1990's.Now, Mr. Kerry, you are trying to sound JUST LIKE the *only* candidate who has stated publicly without weasel-wording, right from the beginning of his campaign, that he will end the War on Weed? When all these years you've had a chance to do precisely the same thing...and didn't make a peep? You think we can't tell the difference between a cat and a skunk?I assure you sir, we can. I urge US cannabists everywhere to register as Dems, and tell the registrars that you intend to vote for Mr. Kucinich. You can bet your next paycheck safely that the word wll float up to the not-so-hallowed halls of the Dem leadership...and cause *more* of the so-called 'viable' candidates to begin to try to mimic Mr. Kucinich.Just like Mr. Kerry is trying to do.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 09, 2004 at 08:38:54 PT
medicinal toker 
I get so upset with politics. What keeps them from saying the laws are wrong and they need to be fixed? That is the truth and why can't they see it? I know the fear of offending big pharmaceutical companies stops them but that means they aren't speaking from knowledge and truth but from who gives them money to run.
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Comment #1 posted by medicinal toker on January 09, 2004 at 08:33:46 PT
backpedaling?
Sounds like Kerry is backpedaling on mmj with his wanting "to wait for the completion of a study to see what other alternatives might be available to medical marijuana before deciding whether to legalize it in all states." What study? Starting to sound more like Howard Dean and his FDA review scam. People don't usec an illegal medicine because they want to, they do it because legal alternatives are exhausted. Why is it so hard for pols to understand unless they've faced it themselves?
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