cannabisnews.com: Transcript: Are We Getting Close To Legalizing Pot Transcript: Are We Getting Close To Legalizing Pot Posted by CN Staff on July 08, 2004 at 18:36:17 PT Program: O'Reilly Factor Source: FoxNews.com BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Unresolved Problem" segment tonight: The drive to legalize marijuana. In Oregon, a ballot measured this week would allow patients to possess six pounds of pot — that's nearly two shopping carts full — if a health practitioner, not a doctor, said it was OK. That's pretty much legalization if even a shaman could grant permission for you to toke in Oregon.In Congress, a House bill that would disallow any federal prosecution of medical marijuana cases anywhere will likely be voted down — the feds taking a hard line against what many see as a ruse. Joining us now from Washington is Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason magazine, a Libertarian publication, and Dr. Andrea Barthwell, the nation's Deputy "Drug Czar." So Oregon, Doctor, I mean, this is, you know, any health practitioner. So you're a shaman from the Amazon and you set up shop. Come on, I mean, everybody knows this is a ruse. Am I wrong?ANDREA BARTHWELL, MD: No, you're absolutely right, Bill. This is what we've been trying to make clear to people when they have these proposals presented to them. This is not about getting medicine to people who are sick and dying. This is about making marijuana legal.And the way in which it's written, such that a person could have six pounds, as you say, enough to fill a shopping cart...O'REILLY: Two.BARTHWELL: Two shopping carts, really. It allows a person so much marijuana that they could supply a whole community of schoolchildren with enough marijuana...O'REILLY: Yeah, absolutely.BARTHWELL: ... to keep them intoxicated for days at a time.O'REILLY: Right. There's no question this is a ruse. But there is a legitimate issue here, Doctor. We had Montel Williams on a few weeks back. He has MS. And I believe Montel Williams when he says, "Look, medical marijuana helps me, helps me cope with this disease, cope with my suffering. There's no reason why I should be denied it." And I agree with Montel Williams that if this is the case, if a doctor — a doctor — says that he needs it for his MS, he should have it. You don't disagree with that, do you?BARTHWELL: Well, I do, actually. There is nothing that tells us from the science now that smoked, crude botanical should be a medication. We have a process that has been in place for 100 years in this country that protects the sick and dying from snake oil salesmen. And just because something makes you feel better doesn't make it medicine.O'REILLY: Yeah, but you're dealing with theory and I want to deal with reality. And we'll get to you, Mr. Gillespie, in a moment. Montel Williams believes, because he actively smokes marijuana, that it helps his MS. See, and I'm saying to myself, if we're going to err here — and he believes it and it helps him — let him have it. It's not hurting society.BARTHWELL: Well, it actually does hurt society. It undermines rather than under-girds our prevention efforts when we have a very mixed message out there to young people about marijuana. In addition to that, it undermines the practice of medicine in this country.We develop, the FDA, a process of bringing medications to the marketplace, because snake oil salesmen peddled products to people at the turn of the century that made them feel better.O'REILLY: All right.BARTHWELL: No one would argue that cocaine would make him feel better. Are we trying to make that medicine too?O'REILLY: No, no, no. But cocaine is a different — cocaine is a much, much, much stronger drug than marijuana is. And I don't think you could make the comparison.BARTHWELL: Well, no one would argue that smoking a cigarette makes someone feel better, and we don't have people peddling nicotine.O'REILLY: All right. Let me get to Mr. Gillespie.NICK GILLESPIE, EDITOR, REASON MAGAZINE: Well, actually, we do have people peddling nicotine, and I suppose the drug tsar wants to ban cigarettes as well. But the real point here is not about legalizing drugs. Medical marijuana initiatives are not stock courses for legalization.It's pretty clear in the Oregon initiative, which will be voted on in the fall, that nothing changes in the criminal code for non-medicinal use of marijuana. And Bill, you can make fun of licensed practitioners. Those are the people who are cited in this initiative, and that includes shamans and naturopaths, but these are people who are licensed in this state anyway.O'REILLY: Come on, Mr. Gillespie. No spin zone.GILLESPIE: If I could finish.O'REILLY: You can't finish, because what you're saying is ridiculous. This is an outright ruse by the State of Oregon, a very liberal legislature, as you may know, all right, to give anybody — anybody — the right to write a prescription so somebody can have six pounds.GILLESPIE: No, that's not true.O'REILLY: I've got a headache, I can get six pounds. It's ridiculous.GILLESPIE: First off, that isn't true.O'REILLY: Yes, it is.GILLESPIE: OK. And if you're worried about accountability, and if the drug tsar's office is worried about accountability, this actually creates a paper chain, because you have to file and you have to document all of the pot that you're giving out, who you're giving it out to. You have to register as a primary care person and a helper for people. So it actually puts a lot of controls on the dissemination of marijuana.O'REILLY: Mr. Gillespie, come on.GILLESPIE: The larger point, Bill — Bill, the larger point, and it's one that you were making, this is a humanitarian law, and this is one of the reasons why nine states, including Oregon, which already has medical marijuana, this is why nine states have voted these laws in.O'REILLY: So if they already had it, why do they need six pounds of it? You know why.GILLESPIE: It helps people, it helps people — yeah, you know why. It's because...O'REILLY: You know why.GILLESPIE: Yeah, I hear it, can I tell you...O'REILLY: It's quasi legalization, and it's wrong.GILLESPIE: No, no, Bill, it is not about legalization. I wish that it were. I support legalization of drugs. This is not about that. What it is is that people who are sick, people like Montel Williams, people with AIDS-wasting-syndrome have trouble growing their own pot or maintaining a stable, secure supply.O'REILLY: You can go, like everybody else with every other disease...GILLESPIE: No, you can't...O'REILLY: ... to the pharmacy and get it.GILLESPIE: Bill, Bill, you can't.O'REILLY: All right, Mr. Gillespie, you've had your say.GILLESPIE: CVS and Rite Aid aren't selling pot. What this would help — it would help create California-like cannabis clubs.O'REILLY: What this would do, Mr. Gillespie, is create another generation of drug dealers, who get six pounds of marijuana from a phony shaman and open up and do business.GILLESPIE: Bill, Bill...O'REILLY: Mr. Gillespie, I'm going to cut your mike now, because you've had your say. And with all due respect, I have to go back to the Doctor, who was invited on this program as well, all right?Now, Doctor, Marinol is a pill, all right, that has active ingredient from — you don't oppose Marinol, do you?BARTHWELL: Absolutely, not. And it's a pill and a suppository, so it can be given to people who are vomiting. And it is, in fact, the molecule that is the active ingredient in marijuana that's been extracted in the way that we do from willow bark to make aspirin, and from opium to make all the pain medication...O'REILLY: If you're OK with Marinol, Doctor, then I don't understand the difference that, if it's more immediate relief, as Montel Williams says, why you're objecting to that. If it's tightly regulated and you OK Marinol, then why not just OK this? I'll give you the last word.BARTHWELL: Well, we have a process in which we bring medications to the marketplace that protects the public health. And Marinol has met the standards of medicine in this country. And it's not an issue of rapid onset. And, in fact, this direction that they're going in, Oregon, really reveals what we know is going on here, which is to legalize marijuana.O'REILLY: I agree with you.BARTHWELL: It allows an individual who has six pounds to then find the medical excuse after the fact and be fined only $500.O'REILLY: OK, I've got to go, guys.GILLESPIE: Bill, would you be OK with a pound? Would you be OK with one pound, Bill?O'REILLY: No, I wouldn't, unless it was a doctor doing it, not a shaman.GILLESPIE: OK, so it has to be a medical doctor.O'REILLY: Correct, a medical doctor with a degree.GILLESPIE: All right, but you agree that medical marijuana makes sense and is a legitimate choice.O'REILLY: For Montel Williams and people like that.GILLESPIE: OK.O'REILLY: Doctor and Mr. Gillespie, thanks very much. We appreciate it.This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," July 7, 2004 that has been edited for clarity. Watch The O'Reilly Factor weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the Radio Factor!Source: FoxNews.com (US) Show: The O'Reilly FactorProgram Date: July 7, 2004Copyright: 2004 Fox News Network, LLCContact: comments foxnews.comWebsite: http://www.foxnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmLawmakers Say No To Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19152.shtmlFeds' Wayward Path on Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19142.shtml Oregon To Vote on Easing Medical Marijuana Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19124.shtmlMontel Williams Pushes Pot -- for Medical Reliefhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18797.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #29 posted by BGreen on July 13, 2004 at 16:41:08 PT If barthwell is chosen to run for office She should be greeted at every single campaign stop she makes and ferociously questioned about her years of lying for the drug czar. Her own lies will at last come back to destroy her life the way she has chosen to destroy the lives of tens of thousands of innocent cannabis partakers.Reciprocity: Ain't it a bitch?The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by military officer guy on July 13, 2004 at 14:25:26 PT Libertarian for Prez Virgil Nice post on Libertarian Prez candidate Michael Badnarik... I would suggest anyone that has never heard of the Libertarian Party to visit his web page and read the issues...Even if you don't agree with all of their views, the rebulicrats don't have all the answers...it's time they heard ours...vote Libertarian vote Michael Badnarik http://www.badnarik.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by mamawillie on July 09, 2004 at 20:07:34 PT Marlon Brando Brando died of pulmonary fibrosis. From the site pulmonaryfibrosis.org: What are the causes? Traditional theories have postulated that it might be an autoimmune disorder, or the after effects of an infection, viral in nature. There is a growing body of evidence which points to a genetic predisposition. A mutation in the SP-C protein has been found to exist in families with a history of Pulmonary Fibrosis. The most current thinking is that the fibrotic process is a reaction to microscopic injury to the lung. While the exact cause remains unknown, associations have been made with the following:• Inhaled environmental and occupational pollutants • Diseases such as Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and Sarcoidosis • Certain medications • Therapeutic radiationNo mention of obesity or that he died because "his chest weighed more than his lungs could handle". [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by gloovins on July 09, 2004 at 16:33:15 PT My Dad has a saying for Barfwell types.... She needs a plastic stomach transplant so she can see her head actually in her ass, only THEN can she grab her hair and remove it.She is a camera hungry GOP professional prohibitionist who btw is loved by Repuglicans because she is black & female and tows that party line no matter what facts are cited. She is ignorance x 100, Andrea Barfwell please get out of office and stop wasting my tax dollars on your lies and b.s. you useless douchbag. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by FoM on July 09, 2004 at 13:36:51 PT AP: Barthwell Resigns Bush Aide Seeks SeatJuly 9, 2004 As Illinois Republicans scrambled to find a U.S. Senate candidate, the deputy director of President Bush's drug-control office resigned today to explore a run for the office. Doctor Andrea Grubb Barthwell had been deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy since January 2002. Federal law barred her from seeking the Republican nomination while she worked for the government.The drug-control office announced her resignation in a written statement.If Barthwell is chosen to face off against Democrat Barack Obama, it would be the first time in U.S. history that two black candidates have battled for a Senate seat.The original Republican nominee, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race two weeks ago after the release of embarrassing sex club allegations in his now-public divorce records.Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by kaptinemo on July 09, 2004 at 10:40:55 PT: This may be 'sympathy for the Devil' But take pity on "Dr." Barthwell. She has more than health problems.She has a credibility problem. And it shows. I've seen her close up, and she's absolutely terrified of being in the same room with a reformer. Her whole posture stiffens. She knows her position is eroding almost by the minute, despite her brave noises. In the same way that the Inquisition held to the end that the world was flat, and that Galileo’s and Copernicus's books remained on the proscribed list that 'good Catholics' weren't supposed to read, she must daily spout lies. Imagine the strain that doing so creates internally, physically as well as psychologically. That kind of cognitive dissonance can be very deleterious to one's health.BTW...did any of you all know that she had tried to throw her hat in the ring for Veep to Kerry? Many here might bitch about Edwards, and with good reason (he's a Bilderburger) but imagine what would have happened if *she* had been picked... [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by E_Johnson on July 09, 2004 at 10:01:23 PT The kid card in food addiction What kind of message does Barthwell send to the children of America who are struggling with obesity, who are already showing signs of adult heart disease and Type II diabetes in their early teens, whio have been turned into food addicts by big business marketing and their parents using fast food as an emotional substitute? [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by observer on July 09, 2004 at 09:37:05 PT re: The kid card is nothing new The kid card is the very ticket drug worriors have used from rhe very beguining and they continue to use it because it works and they have no other argument.Right on, runruff. This is a classic ploy: whip up parental fears for their children. You can even read papers published by NIDA (albeit in 1979) publically admitting that's how it is done.5. The drug is associated with the corruption of young children, particularly their sexual corruption. ''The inflaming of this fear about the fate of our own children made it difficult if not impossible for most Americans to take a careful and reasoned look at our drug policies.'' NIDA: Themes in Chemical Prohibition, William L. White, 1979 http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 drug war news feeds for you, updated 24/7 [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by E_Johnson on July 09, 2004 at 08:41:29 PT If only the MPP weren't so polite It is traditionally considered very rude for a man to say anything about a woman's weight, but withmarijuana users getting raped in jail, it's not the time to be polite.They're in Washington, why can't they make a laughingstock of this food addicted woman running around telling everyone else to clean up THEIR act?She has no right, at her weight, to accuse anyone else of having unhealthy habits or lacking self control or being only concerned with getting high.She gets high from food, science has shown that food addicts get the dopamine kick from overeating.NIDA should be renamed NIDAFA. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on July 09, 2004 at 08:37:22 PT Let's start a letter campaign about her addiction Let's all write letters to any media outlet that features her and accuse her of having an active food addiction, of sending a very wrong message to American teens, and demand that she be fired or put on leave until she can conquer her addiction and come back to work healthy and sober.She makes me sick. She is an addict and she really needs ehlp or she is going to die from diabetes or high blood pressure or pulmonary failure like marlon Brando -- who basically died from food addiction.His lungs failed because his chest muscles had more weight to pull than they could handle, basically.People with severe obesity often have lung trouble because of that.Barthweklll is heading for a crash. She is a very sick woman and really desperately needs help before she kills herself with her addiction.So we should bombard the media with calls for a public intervention into her addiction. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by E_Johnson on July 09, 2004 at 08:32:38 PT Andrea Barthwell is an addict! She weighs at least 300 pounds. You don't get that way unless your relationship with food is like a heroin addict's relationship with heroin. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on July 09, 2004 at 08:08:28 PT: One more reason why I no longer watch much commercial TV.And Mr. O'Reilly works for the network that proudly proclaims it has a lock on (and tried to get the patent via a lawsuit against Al Franken) 'fair and balanced' news coverage. Pardom me while I retch... [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by Dankhank on July 09, 2004 at 07:48:18 PT must see here, too Subject: A must see ... hope this works .... got it from a DemoOkie site ...The backstory is as follows: earlier this year, the web site for the Bush-Cheney campaign - the real one, paid for by MBNA America and Richard Scaife - featured a "create your own banner" tool, where you could enter your own slogan and print out your own poster, with the Bush-Cheney logo, and a note at the bottom "paid for by Bush-Cheney'04, Inc." Democrats, of course, couldn't get enough of this. The original sloganator accepted everything, then it started censoring profanity and words like "Hitler" "dictator," and "evil". Nevertheless, many clever folks exploited the sloganator to their own ends before its sad demise only a couple of weeks after its birth, and its mourners assembled some of the best for the slide show.The link below is best enjoyed with the sound on: http://homepages.nyu.edu/~meo232/sloganator/ resist .. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on July 09, 2004 at 07:40:45 PT Virgil Does This Help? It also would create state-regulated dispensaries authorized to supply up to six pounds of marijuana per year to qualified patients. Fight Looms Over Medical Marijuana Expansion: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19075.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Virgil on July 09, 2004 at 07:30:21 PT Where does the 7lb. figure come from? The LA Times and Reuters reported 1 pound. Six pounds in an outdoor grow for a years supply would not be excessive and laughing grass should be legal anyway.The LA Times article on July 3 is only 3 paragraphs long and the second paragraph reports the 1 pound figure. From http://tinyurl.com/2zua3 -The ballot initiative would let patients possess up to a pound of marijuana, up from 3 ounces under a law passed in 1999. It also would create a system of dispensaries that could legally sell the drug to patients.Reuters says 1 pound at http://tinyurl.com/3btso and six pounds appears nowhere- The ballot measure would let patients possess up to 1 pound of marijuana, up from 3 ounces under a law passed in 1999. It also would create a system of dispensaries that could legally sell pot to patients.The Fox report dated July 7 says 1 pound in the first paragraph and mysteriously says 6 pounds in the second paragraph. From http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,124884,00.html -PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon ballot measure expected to qualify this week would make it legal for medical marijuana (search) users to possess one pound of pot, create state dispensaries and allow nurse practitioners and naturopaths (search) to prescribe it.If passed, a patient could possess six pounds of marijuana legally — spread out, it would be enough to fill two grocery carts. The medical marijuana law on the books there now limits legal possession to three ounces.It is the Seatle Times that is clear on the situation. It says that the initiative would allow a dispenseries to provide up to 6 pounds for an individual in a year. From http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001966820_medpot28m.html - It also would create state-regulated dispensaries authorized to supply up to 6 pounds of marijuana a year to qualified patients.I hate to think how much 6 pounds of laughing grass will cost. Think of tobacco that will kill you as opposed to laughing grass that can save you. Say a pack of cigarettes is one ounce then a person that smokes a pack a day is consuming 2 pounds a month. Why should they be allowed to have so much of something that is killing them. Six pounds of cigarettes wouldn't half fill a hand basket at a grocery store and cannabis and tobacco are highly similar on specific gravity. Fox is ucked up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by runruff on July 09, 2004 at 07:28:13 PT: The kid card is nothing new. The kid card is the very ticket drug worriors have used from rhe very beguining and they continue to use it because it works and they have no other argument. Remember this is about job secuity for people like Barthwell and thousands of others in verious industries who make fourtunes if not a very good living fighting drugs. The kid card? Well Look at he baby boomers who now run this country and all the buisnesses in it. Many of which started useing drugs as young people. Historically this has never been a problem. In the first place it is my resposibilty to raise my kids not hers. More kids are harmed and raped beatup and killed in public schools than with pot which has never harmed anyone. Drunk divers and stressed out drivers kill thousands of kids every year. How do we protect our kids here. Violence in entertainment, refined sugar. caffiene, dangerous sports, Kids see people using alcohol irresponsiblly everyhwere, even law enforcment and polititions. What signal does this send to young people? She talks like cannabis is some new and ominous substance that has just made it onto the sceen. China hs used it for ten thousand years without interruption or interferance from the western world. They have no stake in this rediculous war on cannabi/hemp. To me she is obvios in her motives and ignorant on the subject. O'Reilly is a dog and pony show. There is no real reporting here. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Virgil on July 09, 2004 at 06:52:07 PT Press release by Libertarian candidate 4 prez From http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/7/emw139135.htmAll Press Releases for July 7, 2004 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SPEAKS OUT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA: Badnarik supportive of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment On Monday’s telephone strategy session with his communications director, Stephen Gordon, Badnarik stated, “That our congress consistently acts against the will of the people on this issue is certainly no surprise to me. That the Hinchley-Rohrabacher Amendment even needs to be offered indicates the disdain that our congress has for the Constitution. Individuals have the right to use whatever medication they see fit.”Huntsville, AL (PRWEB) July 7, 2004 -- Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the Ashcroft v. Raich case. This case may establish the final judicial ruling that federal force may not be used to undermine state medical marijuana laws.This week, the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment will probably be proposed during consideration of the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill. Essentially, it would prevent the federal government from spending funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. Last year, this amendment received 152 votes, and it requires 66 more to pass this year.New polling data released yesterday [1 shows that even in comparatively conservative Alabama, over seventy-five percent of people of people favor medical marijuana. These data are confirmed nationwide by a recent Rasmussen poll [2 commissioned by noted Hollywood producer Aaron Russo.To Libertarian presidential hopeful Michael Badnarik, this polling data comes as no surprise. On Monday’s telephone strategy session with his communications director, Stephen Gordon, Badnarik stated, “That our congress consistently acts against the will of the people on this issue is certainly no surprise to me. That the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment even needs to be offered indicates the disdain that our congress has for the Constitution. Individuals have the right to use whatever medication they see fit.”Gordon, who managed the above referenced Rasmussen poll and serves as the Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Alabama, expanded Badnarik’s comment with, “That either congressional or judicial action is even being considered shows the utter disrespect that George W. Bush has for his oath of office. That John Kerry suggests that this topic requires further study reveals that he cares neither for the 10th Amendment nor for whether people even live or die.How many more Loretta Nalls will be arrested, Steve Kubbys exiled, or Peter McWilliamses die at the hands of our government? There will be one choice on the presidential ballot for those who value the individual over the state.”With over 600 elected officials, the Libertarian Party is the third largest party in the country. Badnarik is expected to be on the ballot in all 50 states while Ralph Nader is having ballot access difficulties in many states, including Arizona, Texas, Indiana and Oregon. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by The GCW on July 09, 2004 at 04:20:17 PT Like no other substance, the Dr. uses a Mexican slang term to label a substance.It is not a drug; it's a plant.Barthwell IS the RUSE.Biblically.The Green Collar Worker [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by billos on July 09, 2004 at 03:26:44 PT They are making cannabis.......................... public enemy Number ONE.Soon we will see wanted posters of marijuana plants and the criminals who use them. Maybe even with rewards posted to those who turn his brothers in for such criminal activity. I believe one can be incarcarated now if LEO could prove you knew of a plant(s) being grown and you withheld the info from LEO.Well, as predicted Bush is going to let a terrorist attack happen soon in the name of saving his presidency. When they lose the battle for life itself because their attention has been focused on Public Enemy Number One, the only safe place left in the country may be prison, where all the criminal marijuana users will be. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Virgil on July 08, 2004 at 22:46:10 PT Bush wanting to test people for mental illness After listening to the horsemen of the Bush Misadministration and being reminded by the most crazy of statements yet by Myth Barfwell in this article, I now see why the administration wants to test everyone for mental illness. If all these people that make it to the top are as crazy as Barfwell, then just how bad off are the people below?And look at O'Reilly and Fox for calling his circus news. What's funny is that the rest of the world follows us, which might strike people odd as we don't hear anything much from the outside world. When you think the rift between us and everyone else, you have Barfwell showing that all of America has gone insane by tolerating such madness from highly paid public officials.I remember reading about a person that cane in a wheelchair to the Dutch Experience because of her MS. The Dutch Experience tried to emulate the Dutch Coffeeshops by doing what they could for people in need of cannaabis for illness. Anyway the woman would do her tokes and walk home to clean house. I guess she had to push the wheel chair so she would have it when she ran out and then down.So what gets me is that all of this is all but instantaneous. I would love to see a hundred people with MS given cannabis like some Moony mass wedding. I guess it would be an introduction that might lead to a wedding if it were legal. The thing might look like one of those faith healer shows where people start jumping up and shouting "Praise the Lord." People should praise cannaabis and demonize prohibition, but the upside down people control the media and the public money and we are preached to think upside down by people like Barfwell.How can someone of her position not be run out of office for saying such absurdities on national television? Things are upside down. Oh yeah, and we are ruled by treason. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by siege on July 08, 2004 at 22:45:21 PT off topic Dear Arthur,Good news! A federal court recently overturned dangerous media ownership rules that would have let powerful media giants control the most important local sources of news -- your local newspaper and TV station.Now President Bush and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will go back to the drawing board to write new rules that will determine how diverse and independent our news will be. The bad news is that it’s looking like the Bush administration and the FCC may ignore the court’s decision, as well as feedback from millions of concerned Americans like you, in favor of crafting new rules that would allow huge media corporations like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. or Time Warner to control the news and decide what we should and shouldn’t see, hear and read. We Americans rely on the media to find out what’s going on and to stay engaged in our communities and our political system. The strength and health of our democracy relies on us trusting that the news we get is unbiased, allowing us to make informed, reasonable decisions about political and social issues. Allowing a handful of large companies to control the content of local news and information puts us at the mercy of these media owners all of whom have their own motivations and biases and few of whom have any connection to our local communities.The Bush administration and the FCC will be writing the new rules soon. Help us make sure they rule in favor of independent, diverse media ownership. It is critical that you speak up NOW before it's too late! Click here to send a free email to President Bush and the FCC follow the Court's ruling and enact media ownership rules that preserve our democratic values.Once you’ve sent your message, help spread the word by forwarding this message to everyone you know who reads the newspaper, watches TV, or listens to the radio.Thank you for your help,Gene Kimmelman Consumers Union 1666 Connecticut Ave., NW Washington, DC 20009Click here to send a message telling President Bush and the FCC you want rules that will ensure independent and diverse news. https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?id=183&page=UserAction&AddInterest=1129&JServSessionIdr012=39r28oah41.app14bThe Bush administration and the FCC will be writing the new rules soon. Help us make sure they rule in favor of independent, diverse media ownership. https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?id=183&page=UserAction&AddInterest=1129 [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by RasAric on July 08, 2004 at 22:09:13 PT Nicotine Is a Medicine... according to the companies selling it. That's like saying heroin in a patch or gum form is a medication for heroin junkies....WTF is going on here? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Petard on July 08, 2004 at 21:56:54 PT Retaliation is in order Perhaps something akin to the doctors (in Alabama I believe it is) that are supposedly refusing to treat Lawyers due to their ever increasing malpractice insurance rates brought about by frivolous suits. If the politicians who vote against freedom and for incarceration are refused treatment for all but life threatening conditions and even then not prescribed any and all analgesics, perhaps they might begin to percieve the harm they are perpetuating? To refuse non life threatening treatment and to refuse relief from pain would not, in my opinion, be a violation of the Hippocratic oath. If the prohibitionist politicians want to participate in medicine, let them treat themselves (and their family members too)! It sure would add ONE note of truth to statements like Clinton's "I can feel your pain". Just let them go for a root canal or a broken limb and not receive novacaine or be turned away at the door altogether. And when they scream out in their pain have them committed to mental institutions for their failure to grasp reality and inability to cope with the natural condition of mankind. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Truth on July 08, 2004 at 20:47:30 PT Myth Barthwell Excuse me, I'm going to vomit. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Petard on July 08, 2004 at 20:31:59 PT Cocaine is a medicine It IS legal in the USA and is used by Opthamologists. For some types of eye surgery and some types of ocular diseases cocaine IS prescribed and dispensed here in the good ol' Land of the Free* (*free with purchase, limitations apply, membership restricted).And let's review for a moment some of the other "medications" that have been approved by the invincible FDA that are feel good drugs. Let's see, there's Rogaine for men and women to grow hair so they FEEL socially acceptable, there's Viagra and it's competitors so people can FEEL GOOD and manly, able to enjoy sex, then there's all kinds of psychotropics so people can take a pill every day to "feel normal" (interesting that "normal" is regulated by pills, not as a natural condition), then there's ritalin so kids can "feel" manageable and feel focused. And then there's the whole field of pain medications from morphine to aspirin so that people can FEEL pain free, including Motrin and stuff so women can feel "normal" instead of feeling the natural symptoms of PMS. Then there's the appetitie suppressants and stimulants so that those with eating disorders can FEEL either satiated or hungry.Feeling is a part of human existence. Pain is a method by which the human body convey's that something is wrong. Until we can absolutely cure all disease and disorders there are real needs for all types of pain medications just so certain persons can be able to function at all. The alternative is death, and the Feds are even fighting against the right to die with dignity for those uncurable and inconsolable human beings unfortunate enough to not be able to find any kind of relief whatsoever. They can take their compassionate conservatism and use it as a suppository as far as I'm concerned. It might even clear their sinuses since their heads are up there where the suppository goes. Burn in Hell forever Barfwell after a long, tragic, and horrible life!!! Now go hit another all you can eat buffett to self medicate your loneliness you fat hag. Philosophize on that and put your PhD to use. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by duzt on July 08, 2004 at 20:15:12 PT is this lady from the same planet I live on? Two quotes I find interesting from a supposed doctor with one of those degrees Billy is so worried about."Well, no one would argue that smoking a cigarette makes someone feel better, and we don't have people peddling nicotine." Ok, what the hell are all those cigarette ads in magazines for then? "No one would argue that cocaine would make him feel better. Are we trying to make that medicine too?"Ummmm, last time I checked doc barty they do make pharmaceuticals from cocaine. This lady really could pass as a 12 year old kid if I just read what she says and never see her. She makes some pretty pathetic arguements for a so called doctor. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by ekim on July 08, 2004 at 20:10:42 PT Bill have Bill Buckley on GILLESPIE: Bill, would you be OK with a pound? Would you be OK with one pound, Bill?O'REILLY: No, I wouldn't, unless it was a doctor doing it, not a shaman.GILLESPIE: OK, so it has to be a medical doctor.O'REILLY: Correct, a medical doctor with a degree.GILLESPIE: All right, but you agree that medical marijuana makes sense and is a legitimate choice.O'REILLY: For Montel Williams and people like that.ok so 70% of the people think Cannabis has value. and Bill is fronten for the GOP Bill can say he is for it. How can the people contuine elect the GOP when only 19 of them represented the 70% of the people. how can that be. H R 4754 RECORDED VOTE 7-Jul-2004 11:05 PM AUTHOR(S): Farr of California Amendment QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Amendment Ayes Noes PRES NV Republican 19 202 6 Democratic 128 66 11 Independent 1 TOTALS 148 268 17 http://www.mmdetroit.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on July 08, 2004 at 19:46:12 PT Is this 2004? Barfwell is a fraud and a liar. Who says cocaine would make Montel feel good? Sbe says like everybody would say that and I know I don't. What a whore. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 08, 2004 at 19:19:07 PT Video: From The CBC http://www.cbc.ca/playgoestopot/"Lawyer Alan Young (featured in the medical marijuana segment) felt that, due to editing, his position on medical marijuana was distorted. This was not our intention. We're presenting Alan's interview below so that his position will be clarified."Play Video Runtime: 10:48 (Windows Media Player v9) http://www.cbc.ca/playgoestopot/video/alan_young.wmv [ Post Comment ] Post Comment