cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 1, 2005





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 1, 2005
Posted by CN Staff on September 01, 2005 at 14:10:08 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
JAMA Commentary Calls For Marijuana's ReschedulingSeptember 1, 2005 - Chicago, IL, USAChicago, IL: Cannabis provides therapeutic relief for patients and should be reclassified by the federal government to allow for its legal use as a prescription medicine, according to a commentary in the August 17 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
"Sound regulation of medical marijuana requires government oversight based on public health, a rigorous research agenda, a private physician-patient relationship, and respect for patients who seek relief from suffering," the commentary states. "A first step would be to reclassify marijuana as a schedule II drug because, like the schedule II substances cocaine and morphine, it fits well within the statutory definition of having ... 'a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.' This would allow for medical prescriptions subject to strict regulation without unduly interfering with federal drug policy. ... The public can make a distinction between a drug of abuse and a drug prescribed by a physician for a compassionate purpose."The commentary further argues that the federal classification of cannabis as a Schedule I prohibited drug needlessly obstructs investigators from conducting clinical research of the plant's medical properties. "To objectively answer the questions about the safety and efficacy of marijuana, the federal government must be open to the results of scientific research," it states. "Yet research has been sporadic, with the federal government posing multiple hurdles to scientists."The commentary concludes: "The data suggest that marijuana may offer respite for some patients - a position supported by patient experiences and physician opinions. The 'drug war' metaphor does not justify an ideology that removes hope from patients when they are most vulnerable and in need."The American Medical Association (AMA) has previously called for "adequate and well-controlled studies of smoked marijuana [to] be conducted in patients who have serious conditions for which preclinical, anecdotal, or controlled evidence suggests [that cannabis holds] possible efficacy," but has yet to take a formal position in favor of the plant's rescheduling.For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the commentary, "Medical marijuana, American federalism, and the Supreme Court," appears in the August 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6657Denver Pot Reform Measure To Appear On November BallotSeptember 1, 2005 - Denver, CO, USADenver, CO: City voters will decide this November whether to approve a municipal initiative that seeks to eliminate criminal and civil penalties on the private possession of marijuana by adults.If passed, the measure would "make legal the private use and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for any person 21 years of age or older."Colorado law currently classifies simple marijuana possession as a Class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100.In 2004, voters in Oakland, California passed a similar municipal proposal.Voters in Telluride, Colorado and Ferndale, Michigan will also vote this November on municipal ordinances to liberalize their city's marijuana policies.For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6659NIDA Rejects MAPS/Cal NORML Cannabis Vaporizer StudySeptember 1, 2005 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: A scientific protocol to investigate the types of emissions produced by cannabis vaporization has been rejected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) after an 18 month regulatory delay.The protocol, submitted to NIDA in February 2004 on behalf of Chemic Laboratories in Massachusetts, sought to purchase 10 grams of marijuana from the agency so that researchers could conduct a chemical assessment of the cannabis vaporization process. Previous studies have shown vaporization to suppress respiratory toxins by heating cannabis to a temperature where cannabinoid vapors form (typically around 180-190 degrees Celsius), but below the point of combustion where noxious smoke and associated toxins (i.e., carcinogenic hydrocarbons) are produced (near 230 degrees Celsius). A 1999 review of marijuana and health by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine strongly urged the government to conduct research into non-smoked, rapid-onset delivery systems for cannabis.In it's letter rejecting the protocol, NIDA claimed that the study would "not add to the scientific knowledge base in a significant way." Chemic Laboratories says that it will challenge NIDA's decision."Once again, the government has displayed its bad faith by creating a Catch-22 for medical marijuana," said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer, who co-sponsored the protocol in conjunction with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). "First, it claimed that marijuana couldn't be used as a medicine because there weren't sufficient FDA studies of safety and efficacy. Then it refused to provide marijuana to conduct the studies. Next it contended that marijuana was inappropriate for FDA approval in the first place due to the dangers of smoking. Now it is blocking the very studies called for by the Institute of Medicine to develop non-smoked alternatives to smoking."Last week, Gieringer and MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin testified before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that a private, independent source of cannabis is necessary in order to conduct the clinical trials required to establish cannabis as an FDA-approved drug. Currently, all federally approved research on cannabis must utilize cannabis supplied by and grown under contract with NIDA. However, according to the agency's director, it is "not NIDA's mission to study the medical uses of marijuana."For more information, please contact either Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500 or California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer at (415) 563-5858.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6658Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: September 1, 2005Copyright: 2005 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml
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Comment #41 posted by greenmed on September 06, 2005 at 19:42:42 PT
Jim Lunsford - re. hemp bracelets
I saw the same thing on CNN - girl scouts from Long Island are raising disaster relief funds by selling hemp bracelets. This gives me hope for the future.--- clipped  "Suffolk Girl Scouts were prepared to do their part by making and selling "wish bracelets" outside supermarkets and to neighbors and friends, said Yvonne Strong, director of operations of the Suffolk County council. The bracelets, made of beaded, braided hemp, will be sold for any donation to go to the Suffolk Red Cross chapter for the relief of hurricane victims.  As Selden Girl Scouts Cassandra Butterworth, 12, and her sister, Hannah, 11, explained it, you make a wish for the hurricane victims when you put on the bracelet. "You never take it off, even when you take a shower, until your wish comes true," Cassandra said.  Hannah added, "We wish that we would raise enough money so that all the people who lost everything can rebuild their houses and have clothes and toys for their children."  Similar sentiments were echoed in Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations, which are taking up collections for the victims."--- clippedhttp://www.nynewsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-liaid024407703sep02,0,2009912.story?coll=ny-linews-print
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on September 05, 2005 at 10:20:37 PT
westnyc 
I don't mind quotes from books at all. I only mind when the LP pushes their agenda. 
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Comment #39 posted by westnyc on September 05, 2005 at 09:57:47 PT
Well said Mr. Cussler!
"Overstating my case," Sandecker interrrupted acidly. "The very word the cretin in Congress handed me when I began sounding the warning, when I pleaded for backing to isolate and solve the problem. They're more concerned with maintaining their precious power base and promising the moon to get reelected. I'm sick to death of their endless, stupid committee hearings. Sick to death of their lack of guts in standing for unpopular issues, and spending the nation into bankruptcy. The two-party system has become a stagnant swamp of frand and criminal promises. As with communism, the great experiment in democracy is withering from corruption. Who cares a damn if the oceans die? Well, by God, I do. And I'm going to the wall to save them."This is an excerpt from Clive Cussler's novel Sahara. It gives me comfort that someone accused of selling "dime-store" novels can put into words the frustration I am feeling with everything happening in America.FOM - I hope it is ok to post a quote from a book, if it isn't I won't do it again and I understand if you have to remove it.
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on September 03, 2005 at 10:16:24 PT
Truth
That is so true.
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Comment #37 posted by Truth on September 03, 2005 at 09:57:31 PT
Bush
Bush and his croonies didn't cause the storm but without a doubt their global warming oil policies made it stronger.
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Comment #36 posted by BGreen on September 02, 2005 at 19:32:33 PT
"Drowning New Orleans" from October, 2001
Drowning New Orleans
		
A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands. Human activities along the Mississippi River have dramatically increased the risk, and now only massive reengineering of southeastern Louisiana can save the cityBy Mark FischettiThe boxes are stacked eight feet high and line the walls of the large, windowless room. Inside them are new body bags, 10,000 in all. If a big, slow-moving hurricane crossed the Gulf of Mexico on the right track, it would drive a sea surge that would drown New Orleans under 20 feet of water. "As the water recedes," says Walter Maestri, a local emergency management director, "we expect to find a lot of dead bodies."New Orleans is a disaster waiting to happen. The city lies below sea level, in a bowl bordered by levees that fend off Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Mississippi River to the south and west. And because of a damning confluence of factors, the city is sinking further, putting it at increasing flood risk after even minor storms. The low-lying Mississippi Delta, which buffers the city from the gulf, is also rapidly disappearing. A year from now another 25 to 30 square miles of delta marsh--an area the size of Manhattan--will have vanished. An acre disappears every 24 minutes. Each loss gives a storm surge a clearer path to wash over the delta and pour into the bowl, trapping one million people inside and another million in surrounding communities. Extensive evacuation would be impossible because the surging water would cut off the few escape routes. Scientists at Louisiana State University (L.S.U.), who have modeled hundreds of possible storm tracks on advanced computers, predict that more than 100,000 people could die. The body bags wouldn't go very far.SNIPPED
Drowning New Orleans - Scientific American Magazine
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Comment #35 posted by BGreen on September 02, 2005 at 19:22:33 PT
My anger isn't with my brother, Rev. Jim
We couldn't criticize bush after 9/11 because we'd been attacked. Then we couldn't criticize bush because we were at war. Now we can't criticize him because of the disaster, even though bush's incompetence is well documented on all three accounts.This is from the same people that want to control every aspect of my life.We've got refugees that have already relocated here in Missouri and have found jobs. They aren't going back. We all are going to have a financial burden and it's going to ruin many of us.Thanks for letting me vent.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 19:20:11 PT
September 10th Concert for The Victims of Katrina
Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Green Day, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Brian Wilson, Sheryl Crow, Ludacris, Gretchen Wilson, Usher, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp and Rob Thomas are set to appear on a Sept. 10 special that will air on MTV, VH1 and CMT.http://www.portervillerecorder.com/articles/2005/09/02/ap/entertainment/d8ccd40o6.txt
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 19:02:23 PT
BGreen 
I'm glad you says things that I dare not say but often think.Bush didn't cause the storm but he didn't put money into making the levee safe like they did in Amsterdam. I have watched more then one show on the Discovery Channel about New Orleans and what would happen and a show on how Amsterdam spared no money to protect their people.
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 18:56:31 PT
The GCW
He was speaking to the storm and was rebuking the disciples because they feared they would perish. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. 
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Comment #31 posted by The GCW on September 02, 2005 at 18:48:19 PT
FoM, Christ Jesus said, "HUSH BE STILL,"
Christ Jesus said, "Hush be still,"Does anyone know or remember who He was speaking to? Answer in Mark 4:39.This is relative; think about it; pray to know about it according to the "Spirit of truth."http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=4&version=49 
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Comment #30 posted by BGreen on September 02, 2005 at 18:46:11 PT
I'm so sick of this crap
"Don't blame bush" and "now's not the time to place blame."BULL!We warned everybody that this evil SOB was going to destroy this country and we were called traitors and terrorists. Now, our fears are proven to have been prophetic visions and thousands are dead and at least a million people are homeless.Now IS the time to place blame squarely upon the heads of the evil bastards that have hijacked our government.Prison is too good for these people, and NO, I'm NOT going to stop bashing bush and all of the others we've warned you about, because if we all would have been a little more vocal about our prophetic visions we might have been able to save the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters.The FACTS bash bush, I'm just the messenger!The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 18:45:08 PT
mayan
That's an interesting article. I am still watching the news and jumping from CNN to MSNBC and now and then Fox just to see what they are talking about. The little bit I can tolerate Fox it seems they like to stir up the looting and violence part of it rather then the humanitarian part that I care about. MSNBC is having a concert so I'm watching Larry King since I don't listen to country and western music. I just want to know who really cares and who is into a political agenda. So far Fox is the only one that has a haughty way of looking at the disaster. I don't know why you aren't fond of Michael Moore. I really like him. I consider him a political comedian so I take him with a grain of salt. I wish there was news on our topic but it's understandable that the hurricane is taking up everyones focus.
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Comment #28 posted by mayan on September 02, 2005 at 18:25:43 PT
Ruppert
YOU BET YOUR LIFE - By Michael C. Ruppert:
http://copvcia.com/free/ww3/090205_bet_life.shtml
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Comment #27 posted by mayan on September 02, 2005 at 18:15:20 PT
Jim
I beg to differ. We aren't the government. Our government was hijacked long ago. If we were the government cannabis in all it's forms would be legal and oil would be virtually obsolete. I agree that we need to focus on helping those in desperate need but there are definitely some questions that need to be answered also.FoM, even Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has offered assistance. Our government,NOT US, has staged two unsuccessful coups against him and just recently Pat Robertson called for his assassination. Thanks for posting that letter by Michael Moore. I'm not a huge fan of his but I believe he is right on target this time. This country is going down the tubes quick and the longer we tolerate things the worse it will get. It's time to clean house while we still have a house.Barbara Lee Blames War for Slow Response to Katrina: 
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_090205Q.shtml
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 17:50:31 PT
One More Comment
They just said on CNN that Castro has offered us aid. Isn't that something. 
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 17:18:44 PT
Pictures from DigitalGlobe
We were looking at the pictures of the disaster and I thought some here might want to see them too. So many displaced americans. It's hard to comprehend.http://digitalglobe.com/katrina_gallery.html
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Comment #24 posted by Jim Lunsford on September 02, 2005 at 17:04:09 PT
A time for compassion
I think the time for blame has passed. No one person is responsible for this disaster, it's all of us. We are the government we complain about. Let's make the choice to stop judging for what we all are guilty of thinking at some point in our lives. Let's work on how we can help those in need. Let this be a time for us to drop our pride and allow everyone to help those in need. If not, then always remember we are the government. And it's only a choice. But I believe that choosing cannabis is a compassionalte choice. Let's move beyond blame and move instead into compassion and that should keep us busy for quite a while. Love to all, Rev Jim
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Comment #23 posted by The GCW on September 02, 2005 at 14:04:12 PT
A NOTEWORTHY AND SUCCESSFUL PROP.
I could have placed this on the next (& 1st story on the pile; it is about Colorado... but I wanted to come back to this conversation...)----I met with My congressman today in Breckenridge Colorado at noon at a town hall meeting.I had a prop that I used to make a point and want to share it with everyone, for perhaps the opportunity to do something similar if it seems like a bulls-eye.I took a 1943 steel penny with a small green magnet so to demonstrate and catch the attention and further to pass it up toward the congressman with other people looking at it and trying it. I also left that steel penny with the congressman, who put it in His shirt pocket and will pull it out later and think about it, over the other busy day of issues He is facing. I even verified He still had it at the end of the meeting and He asked if I wanted it back and reminded Him it is to remind Him of this later tonight…Then I proceeded to tell about some of the things written below.420420420420420420420420420Congressman Mark Udall   (all in all, I like Udall!)        -Remember back in 1943 when they made the steel penny? We needed to use Our countries resources better! It was desperation. Our country also did something else at the same time to help save Our butts.That’s when the government stopped prohibiting farmers from growing hemp to help America survive.  I think it was known as “HEMP FOR VICTORY” and the government had a promotional video to coincide with the campaign and it is available now at some libraries.Hemp can only help America; hemp prohibition can only harm America!With all the factories that have left America, do We EVEN still have the infrastructure to put hemp on the assembly line?With the rising price of gas going overnight 15 cents a gal. And then another 25 cents the next night (in My neighborhood in the last 2 days- to $2.99…), hemp should be considered more than ever to help America.It is time to “reintroduce hemp as a component of American agriculture.” By the way, the DEA has been halted (Feb. 6, 2003?) from prohibiting foods containing hemp; but it’s all imported. AMCERICAN FARMERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GROW WHAT THE COMMUNISTS CHINEESE ARE ALLOWED TO GROW; WHAT’S GOING ON?????I have hemp seeds and hemp seed oil in My fridge, but it comes from Canada.Chrysler and Mercedes are using hemp resin parts for auto dash boards and door panels.Now WE see funds have been with held for the levee work in the southern Louisiana has been all while The White House focuses a billion dollars a year to exterminate cannabis and the cannabis culture.Hemp has a history of being used for land reclamation work; can replace the usage of trees for paper so trees can be used to build homes… Hemp DOES EVERTHING THAT OIL DOES AND MORE &&& it can help wean Us off petroleum oil… etc.FINALLY, it would also be Biblically correct; for it is no accident God indicated He created all the seed bearing plants and said they were all good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible. 420420420420420420420420420The prop worked like a charm.The congressman acknowledged that He does not support the present laws…There was also plenty of talk about the periphery… “need for alternative liquid fuels” etc…Those steel pennies are less than a dollar in coin shops; I invite / suggest other activist acquire some and make the pitch for HEMP FOR VICTORY; THE SEQUEL.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 11:49:17 PT
News Article from National Geographic
New Orleans Levees Not Built for Worst Case Eventshttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0902_050902_katrina_levees.html
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 09:38:57 PT
Another Thought
If they released all the people in prison on non violent drug offenses they could convert a good portion of the prisons into housing for those who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. 
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 08:15:07 PT
BGreen
It's deja vu all over again. When we suffered the gasoline shortage in the 70s it caused many people to look at the need to not buy gas guzzling cars, use alternative energy sources ( we heat with wood ) and stay at home more often. The people who didn't live thru the gasoline lines way back in those days will be learning how hard it was. 
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 08:02:06 PT
About Bush
When he was elected last fall I felt such doom. There have been very few times in my life that I've felt such doom. How people voted for him I will never understand. They just quoted my favorite scriptures from the Bible. This is the essence of true Christianity but where is it in it's application? http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Matthew+25:31-46
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Comment #18 posted by BGreen on September 02, 2005 at 07:47:55 PT
gas prices
Gas is up to $3.19 here, up 80 cents in four days, adding to the record profits the oil companies made last quarter.Let's all say it in unison ... Thanks, Bush!The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #17 posted by Sam Adams on September 02, 2005 at 07:39:28 PT
Funding
Don't forget, wasted resources on the Drug War is only like one little pinkie toe of the huge Big Government hog! Incredible amounts of money & resources are wasted every year, across the board.I believe the most recent "Energy bill" spent $250 million dollars in Alaska for a bridge to a small island with 50 people on it. 50 people! How many lived in New Orleans, 450,000? I hope that New Orleans will be a lesson for us, but with the corporate media in control, I doubt anything good will come out of this.  The way we, our government and society, handled New Orleans is so typical.We had 30 years to spend $1 billion, or maybe $5 billion, to protect the city. But no, we pissed away the money on things like arrresting 700,000 pot smokers each year. Or maintaining 8,000 nuclear warheads! Now, we'll end up spending $25 billion on New Orleans. Like other pathetic government failures, it's no problem! The taxpayers will cover it. Just like global warming. Ignore it now - actually, worse than ignoring, we're adopting the worse possible policies that will make it worse. You think New Orleans looks bad underwater? Wait until we hit the transition decade when ALL of America's coastal cities are flooded. There won't be any rescue helicopters. There won't be any National Guard. We'll be flat broke, sick, and dying for generations.I've been thinking about the nuclear weapons problem a lot lately. I grew up for 20 years believing that the nukes really protected us from being attacked by the Soviets. But then in 1989, the Soviet Union disintegrated. And here we are, nearly 20 years later, and we still have ALL the warheads, despite every other country in the world (including Russia) begging us to destroy them. Who's the real enemy? Who benefitted from the Cold War in the US?
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 07:25:41 PT
An Open Letter From Michael Moore
Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. BushFriday, September 2nd, 2005 Dear Mr. Bush: Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag. Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with? Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her! I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike? And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ! On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that. There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland. No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this! You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit. Yours, Michael MooreMMFlint aol.comhttp://www.MichaelMoore.com P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.http://michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=183
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 07:19:11 PT
Fats Domino
I thought we needed a little good news. I just read on the Rust List they he has been found.http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/features/printwire/090205ccKatrinawcfatsdomino.1a1ca0b0.html
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on September 02, 2005 at 06:47:31 PT
Kaptinemo and Everyone
I hope everyone is soul searching and thinking about why they didn't fix the levee when they could have fixed it. I have always felt that the drug problem in cities couldn't be fixed until they fixed the cities and people had adequate housing and jobs to give them money and self esteem. Until it is fixed selling drugs will be the only means to survival. I don't understand the lack of concern by the leaders of the southern states for their people. Why don't they have a system in place like in Amsterdam? The world sees us now for what we are. Why don't they open up closed Army bases and give these people a place to live? Only the wealthy matter in our country. Little people are an annoyance to our leaders but now they will have to give an account to us and the whole world.
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on September 02, 2005 at 04:23:56 PT:
Push is coming to shove...finally
This week has been a painfully enlightening one for most people. Although you are not hearing much about it from the corp-rat-ly controlled mainstream media (hmmm, I wonder why; might give other people ideas, maybe?) many people on the ground, both victims and rescue personnel in the affected areas are furiously asking important questions. Questions about government priorities.Questions like: "Why wasn't there any money for levee repair?" "Why wasn't there any money for disaster preparedness?" "Where is the National Guard?" And more, hotly asked questions will be arise these coming months. Those questions will not die down, for one ugly fact: Hurricane season isn't over yet. Another one hitting New Orleans and the city is doomed, literally. America may wind up having it's own real, live Atlantis legend before long.It's going to take billions to repair the area. Billions that have already been spent on (insert sarcasm here) such incredibly important and vital actions as running down cannabists.40 Billion a year, used mainly for oppressing mainly harmless people. How many levess would that have repaired? How many emergency caches of food and water would that have provided? How much fuel? How many pumps and generators? How many amphibious vehicles to carry the sick and injured to safety? How many helicopters?But, nooooo, Uncle has to spend the money chasing us down and locking us up. We're such threats to civil society and law and order, doncha know?Those who've been on the short, sharp and s***ty end of the stick for decades know that Uncle has always had a twisted sense of priorities. Well, now we have company. Lots of company. Angry people ready to listen. They have questions about those priorities; we have some answers. You can start by pointing out to friends and neighbors how much Uncle spends on his precious DrugWar, how little the taxpayer gets for it (prisons to house drug violators when the money could have been used for more important things) then point out the fact that the problems with the levees down there were ignored for years while money that could have been used to fix the problem was spent running down 'potheads', and watch the light bulb go on. Especially when you remind them there's only so much tax revenue in the 'pie'.It's sad but true that in America, a problem can be recognized and warned about for years, but nothing is done until either a bigshot gets inconvenienced or 'little people' get killed, and the survivors threaten social chaos unless it's fixed. New Orleans has paid a terrible price for Fed neglect. Neglect partly enabled by most people not questioning Fed priorities such as the DrugWar. Social chaos is already burgeoning in NO and threatens to destabilize the region. All because the Feds mis-spent the money they had. Time to remind people of that.
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Comment #12 posted by Jim Lunsford on September 02, 2005 at 00:36:09 PT
CNN
Just had a news line stating someone was raising relief funds by selling hemp bracelets. Didn't see much of it, but it's on cnn. Right now, I am proud of CNN and think that a lot of this coming change in the fascist regime we chose by doing nothing. 
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Comment #11 posted by Taylor121 on September 01, 2005 at 23:06:53 PT
JAMA
The JAMA statement is truly fantastic. We've had the California Highway Patrol saying they won't seize patient's marijuana, we have our lawsuit going to try to secure a licensed cannabis source for FDA trials, and now we have the JAMA's statement. All that the reform movement needs now is a Rhode Island victory (which I haven't heard a thing about) and I think the marijuana issue could be said to be moving forward steadily.
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Comment #10 posted by Jim Lunsford on September 01, 2005 at 22:25:51 PT
God Bless CNN
Your outrage in reporting this atrocity of non=response from the white house has been essential in helping to stop this president. Our federal government is in for a real overhaul. Plus, Marc Emery won't be killed here in DEAth land. How unnecessary for us to have such a tragedy invoke the compassion and also the sense of outrage all at the same time. Who is not outraged by the non=reaction of the white house? They are being lambasted all over now. The people will be demanding answers after this, and they will get them. This is the start of a Brave New World. 
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Comment #9 posted by afterburner on September 01, 2005 at 21:40:26 PT
Prohibition: the gateway law
"Prohibition is not the safe law that many would have you believe it is. Habitual enforcement of Prohibition leads to the likelihood that the lawmaker will be attracted to harder, more oppressive laws. Learn how you can steer clear of a path that can only lead to heartache and ruin."Marijuana: The New Prohibition by John Kaplan
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on September 01, 2005 at 21:26:44 PT
The GCW
Thank you for the link. I think it's time for a real awakening in our country. I saw on the news that one jail or prison they are letting non violent offenders out so they can put the violent offenders in now.
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on September 01, 2005 at 19:25:33 PT
The high cost of cannabis prohibition:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bush administration funding cuts forced federal engineers to delay improvements on the levees, floodgates and pumping stations that failed to protect New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters, agency documents showed on Thursday. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050901/pl_nm/weather_katrina_funding_dcThey spent the money to persecute cannabis. They fly helicoptors around at how much per gal. for aviation fuel to exterminate hemp! 
Bush should be removed.
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on September 01, 2005 at 19:10:10 PT
re:THE WAY OUT...
The Farrahs and that WorldnetThe Coulters and PimpsOn every Internet StreetCan Shout and WhisperDisgrace can be forgivenUnderstanding marks the beginnings Gentle Hands can be assuredThey can witnessThe birth of this new childThat offers forgivenessThat will stand with youBefore GodThe stars will turnMatter will vomitAt The foot of this childThis berthingThis thoughtThis IdeaMay not be reconciledWith hard stoneMay my ashesBorn of these stonesForever becomeA Brother and SisterA Mother and FatherNurtured and remindedThat my Heavenly PlaceForever will be reminded
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Comment #5 posted by Dankhank on September 01, 2005 at 18:57:47 PT
MAX
I got a legal look at NJ Weedman's paper ... see:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21078.shtml#49
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on September 01, 2005 at 18:26:54 PT
JAMA
"A first step would be to reclassify marijuana as a schedule II drug because, like the schedule II substances cocaine and morphine, it fits well within the statutory definition of having ... 'a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.' This would allow for medical prescriptions subject to strict regulation without unduly interfering with federal drug policy. ... The public can make a distinction between a drug of abuse and a drug prescribed by a physician for a compassionate purpose."Perhaps the prohibitionists would be wise to listen this time. The longer the government keeps cannabis on Schedule One the more credibility they lose. Americans know cannabis has medicinal value and they will use it even if they have to break the law. The feds can't win this one. Protecting the profits of the pharmaceutical companies will cost more than it's worth. The wall is falling and all the kings men can't hold it up!Unrelated...When Joseph Farah from worldnetdaily.com starts calling for
Bush's impeachment, things must be getting pretty bad...Impeach Bush:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46062THE WAY OUT...Weldon Says Records Were Ordered Destroyed!!(Able Danger)
http://911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=657&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0Flyer for Upcoming 9/11 Events in Oakland and San Francisco:
http://www.911blogger.com/2005/09/flyer-for-upcoming-911-events-in.htmlPaper: Tenet won't become fall guy for 9/11 intelligence:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Paper_Tenet_wont_become_fall_guy_for_911_intell_0901.htmlC-SPAN will be broadcasting the entirety of the McKinney congressional briefing on 9/11:
http://fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/081205_mckinney_911_cspan.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on September 01, 2005 at 17:44:52 PT:
CSA
Did you all know that meth is a schedule 11 drug?When did we stop makng sence?Meth has killed people!!!!Good grief!
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Comment #2 posted by Jim Lunsford on September 01, 2005 at 17:24:17 PT
This war......
on God should come to a head soon. The Buddhist in me knows that everyone in this world is playing a part in a play. What wonderful drama this life has been! I give it a thumbs up for being so riviting! This tragedy called Katrina has overwhelmed the way we have chosen to view the world. I feel that the gates of compassion are about to flood this country, and that we will have the courage to insist on such far sweeping reforms that will boggle the mind.
  I hope to be in New Orleans pretty soon to help. There is no excuse for people to be in the dome this long without food and water though. This country has put food in some incredibly desolate places before at lightning speed. Yet, we can't drop a ch-47 load of food at the dome. But we can have a zero tolerance for people trying to steal food, water, clothing, something to sleep on. You know there is no food in the jail. No water. People are angry in there, and I would be tempted to use violence if it was necessary to survive. Jail would be a death sentence with no water. Over a hundred degrees and no water. Rescue? To the dome? More like die like animals. As of yet, no federal response other than bringing in the airborne. For crowd control. After all, you can't have "undesirables" taking stuff that is already written off on insurance policies. I understand that this is a "tragic comedy" aspect of this drama called life, but we can all be the hero of the play. Please practise compassion during the next few weeks as our gas prices go beyond insanity. Rejoice that we, as a world, will refuse to accept this lifestyle, with it's destructive results. I hope that we will fullfill the message of all the great prophets: from Buddha to Christ to Ghandi and King. That we should practice compassion for all life. That we should have this spiritual revolution of brotherly love. That it takes such a tragedy to bring forth such a possibility is amazing. But probably necessary. I trust that tomorrow will bring forth the compassion that we are all capable of giving. Peace, Rev. Jim
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on September 01, 2005 at 16:08:41 PT
re:AMA
Will the American government aka "antis, prohibitionists" continue to say that the American Medical Association does not find any medical use for smoked cannabis, is this not the first rock that has been thrown that might shatter the glassy ivory towers, is this not the germinal birth that will become the new generation?Maybe them old doctors are reaching for power, and maybe, they are starting to get angry, maybe all this imposed regulation, that is the bastard child of this war on drugs, this war on human beings, has spawned a gap, a deep and precipitous gap, that mind and body cannot grasp.Maybe gentle people have a place in this world, maybe, a profit driven existence, has forgotten those who have no profit.There are some, who can rationalize this writ in some mechanical universe, that tapestry of the raiment of God, and there are others who openly accept their place in the space that God has formed, and see only some dark existence, that has no hope or understanding.My belief and understanding may not be understood, nor my language have not the words that might communicate my inner soul, and world view, before I offend the many good people, who have balanced their equations, and their "options" and who cling so close to the flesh of righteousness, have you not felt pity? Have you come close to your deepest loss?Parting is such sweet sorrow.., parting may have a pale color,and allow for such bad dreams, nightly portents, that quickly fade behind the shadows of memory and forgetfulness.Rest Ye Gentle Souls, Rest,...
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