cannabisnews.com: Railroaded Speech Railroaded Speech Posted by CN Staff on May 04, 2004 at 07:15:18 PT By Debra J. Saunders, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle Imagine if the federal government passed a law that limited advertising of one political point of view. But you don't have to imagine such a law because it already exists, even though most citizens -- even some D.C. politicians who voted for it -- aren't aware of it. Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed a big fat transportation spending bill with a tiny provision that ordered that no federal funds go to transit systems that run any ad that "promotes the legalization or medical use of" any drug listed in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. If a transit agency sells a billboard to an advocacy group that supports medical marijuana, it must say adios to the federal dollars that keep its wheels and rails humming. The good news is: A lawsuit against the measure was argued in a Washington federal court last week. A ruling is expected soon. The ACLU sees the law as a First Amendment violation. As Bruce Mirken, the San Francisco voice of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, noted, "This is viewpoint discrimination." Added Mirken, "San Franciscans right now are barred by law from buying a billboard in BART or Muni stations supporting Proposition 215 (the medical marijuana measure approved by California voters in 1996) and from urging our members of Congress to try to change federal law." Meanwhile, political groups that oppose medical marijuana are free to advertise on BART. Snipped: Complete Article: http://freedomtoexhale.com/speech.htm Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Debra J. Saunders, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, May 4, 2004Copyright: 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites:MPP: http://www.mpp.org/ACLU: http://www.aclu.org/DPA: http://www.drugpolicy.org/CTC: http://www.changetheclimate.org/A Quiet New Tactic in The War on Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18776.shtmlPenalize Drug Views Amounts To Censorship http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18753.shtmlChallenge To Metro Ad Curb Argued http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18750.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by fearfull on May 04, 2004 at 12:35:11 PT Hear-hear! Say it like it is kaptinemo! Amen! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on May 04, 2004 at 10:40:00 PT: The 4th Estate is finally catching on And none too soon. Because the gravitas of this cannot be under-emphasized: THIS IS A DIRECT AND DEMONSTRABLE ASSAULT UPON THE FIRST AMENDMENT BY THOSE CHARGED WITH PROTECTING IT.It doesn't get any plainer than that... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on May 04, 2004 at 08:50:53 PT Competition benefits the consumer. Restraint of trade cheats the customer, enables sales of inferior products, and violates hundreds of years of antitrust law.Re: "Amigula`s product will sell for $1.00 per gram. "http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=21005686&brk=1see also:http://www.amigula.com/news/sept1_03_amsterdam.htmlhttp://www.thehempire.com/pm/weblog/D20031205/and from google.com's html version of the file http://www.amigula.com/apply/pdf/interim_policy.pdfIn order to build knowledge about the safety, efficacy and use of marihuana for medical purposes, patients and physicians are asked to report any serious or unexpected reaction to the product by notifying Health Canada: Toll-free telephone: 866-234-2345 Toll-free fax: 866-678-6789 By email: cadrmp hc-sc.gc.ca6.6 Cost Recovery A form of cost recovery system will be implemented so that the Government of Canada can recover its costs. Patients will be required to pay for all seeds and product supplied to them. Instructions will be provided on how to submit payment. The cost of seeds will be $20.00 per package. The cost of dried marihuana will be $5.00 per gram , that is, $150.00 for a 30- gram package. Costs are subject to change without prior notice. 7. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Additional information can be found at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/ocma . . . , or you may contact the Drug Strategy and Controlled Substances Programme at 1-866-337-7705 . 8. EFFECTIVE DATE AND POLICY CHANGES This policy is effective July 9, 2003 and can be amended or suspended without prior notice. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 04, 2004 at 07:38:53 PT Press Release from Amigula Inc. Amigula Inc.: Amigula Incorporated on Health Canada http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=21005686&brk=1 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment