cannabisnews.com: Board Passes Ordinance for Marijuana Citation










  Board Passes Ordinance for Marijuana Citation

Posted by CN Staff on June 16, 2006 at 07:33:05 PT
By Dan Simmons, La Crosse Tribune 
Source: La Crosse Tribune 

Wisconsin -- A new La Crosse County ordinance would send criminal charges up in smoke for low-risk offenders busted with under 25 grams — a little less than an ounce — of marijuana.At a Thursday meeting, the county board voted 15-12 to pass the ordinance, which would send first-time offenders away with a citation and fine instead of a misdemeanor charge.
The vote followed nearly two hours of debate that included testimony from the district attorney, a judge and the county sheriff — and a few moments of levity that would please Cheech and Chong.District Attorney Scott Horne argued against the ordinance, saying the current system identifies problem offenders early, before they move on to more serious drug abuse and criminal behavior, and doesn’t taint their records if they follow court-ordered education and community-service programs.“The ordinance sends the wrong message to the community and removes the current emphasis on education and assessment,” he said.County board member and defense attorney Keith Belzer then engaged Horne in a questioning that resembled a cross-examination at trial.Belzer asked if Horne intended to use the ordinance if passed.“The county board can’t compel a prosecution strategy,” Horne replied, adding “there should be further discussion about it” if passed.La Crosse County Circuit Judge John Perlich, who presides over the county’s Drug Court, wasted no time challenging most of what Horne said.He held four criminal complaints for minor marijuana possession from a recent day, which he riffled through with his fingers as he recited a long list of clerks who spent time filing and processing the complaints.“All this for a low-risk offender — all this costs you, the taxpayer, a lot of money,” he said.Onalaska, Wis., has had a similar ordinance in place for more than two decades, he said, “and last I checked, it’s not a den of dope-smoking meth-heads.”Board member and Central High School microeconomics teacher Jim Berns also argued against the ordinance, saying he’s seen too many young lives derailed by drug abuse. The current approach, he said, “allows them to turn a poor or impulsive decision into something positive.”Belzer said he’s represented many clients whose lives were equally affected by the legal snarls and inability to get insurance benefits and student loans after being busted for having marijuana seeds in an ashtray.But like Horne, La Crosse County Sheriff Michael Weissenberger voiced strong opposition to the ordinance. Marijuana possession, even in small amounts, is reason for concern, he said.“How do we know the person didn’t just get done selling more of it?” he said.Toward the end of the debate, board member Ray Ebert asked Weissenberger how many joints could be rolled from 25 grams of marijuana — the legal limit under the ordinance.“Depends on how you roll them,” Weissenberger replied.Board chairman Steve Doyle interjected.“Any marijuana users out there want to fill us in?” he said, addressing the 28 board members present.All broke out in laughter. None answered his question.Complete Title: County OKs Pot Plan: Board Passes Ordinance for Marijuana CitationSource: La Crosse Tribune (WI)Author: Dan Simmons, La Crosse TribunePublished: Friday, June 16, 2006Copyright: 2006 The La Crosse TribuneContact: http://tinyurl.com/oktg8Website: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #70 posted by Hope on June 24, 2006 at 11:28:02 PT
Best to Marc and Jodie
I'm worried about Herbdoc. This isn't like him.
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Comment #69 posted by Hope on June 24, 2006 at 11:25:57 PT
Paul
Don't give up. It sounds interesting...though I, of course, don't completely comprehend it...other than you are feeding animals right in order to produce healthy meat for people.You have obviously given this a lot of thought and are very, very smart.Hang in there. A door may open yet for your meat business. What about a booth at stock shows or fairs?
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Comment #68 posted by FoM on June 23, 2006 at 13:13:27 PT
A Wish for Marc and Jodie
I wish for them only good roads ahead and I wish for them to have all their dreams come true. 
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Comment #67 posted by whig on June 23, 2006 at 13:02:47 PT
ekim
And congratulations to Jodie too! Of course!
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Comment #66 posted by whig on June 23, 2006 at 13:02:16 PT
ekim
Congratulations to Marc, and I know it will be a good thing for him.
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Comment #65 posted by ekim on June 23, 2006 at 12:59:35 PT
EMERY TAKES THE PLUNGE 
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n814/a03.html
Newshawk: Educators For Sensible Drug Policy: http://www.efsdp.org
 Votes: 0
Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2006
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Canoe Inc
Contact: news 24hrs.ca
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Irwin Loy, 24 Hours
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)PRINCE OF POT TAKES THE PLUNGE The Prince of Pot is gettin' hitched. A pending extradition trial won't stop Marc Emery from taking the plunge at a ceremony later in July. He'll marry Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, the assistant editor at the Cannabis Culture pot magazine Emery publishes out of his West Hastings office. The B.C. Supreme Court yesterday relaxed Emery's bail conditions to allow friends and co-accused Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey to attend. The three are not currently allowed to associate outside the work setting. Outside court yesterday, Giesz-Ramsay told reporters she wants to marry Emery, even though he stands a good chance of being extradited to the U.S. on pot charges. 
 
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #64 posted by ekim on June 23, 2006 at 12:11:07 PT
Paul NPR talk of the nation science Fri 3:00
talking about working of living cells and parkensons.
wonder if your studies on tfas and Omega 3 could aid in this work. Runnruffs wife with Jerry we hope.Wondering what Mr Kubby and herbdoc and Mr Emery are doing.
http://www.saferniles.org
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Comment #63 posted by whig on June 23, 2006 at 10:26:41 PT
Paul
I read what you just wrote and it was very thought provoking to me. If we cannot get TFAs out of our diet completely at least cannabis can help. There should be a movement to organic farming altogether. It isn't something that should cost a premium because it's the only way food should be grown and raised.I think to be very honest with you that you have a great deal to teach, and you can make it better for the world if you will tell us what you know and how you think we can achieve it. I know you want to make yourself an income from your ideas and knowledge, but you make it harder for many people to listen to you when you seem to be selling a product and you should put the truth above money (I know you are truthful, by the way) and you will have people that will listen to you and not ridicule what you say and you will have more chance to make a living if you are taken seriously.
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Comment #62 posted by paulpeterson on June 23, 2006 at 10:02:49 PT
Hope
True, it is "never easy" for new ideas to permeate through the almost indefusible membrane called the "blood-brain barrier" of most people.But it gets worse, when people have a "cognitive dissonance" switch that is primed to avoid any controversy that might upset their own perceived self-interest comfort level. (I know that was quite a mouthful right there).But when people eat large quantities of "trans fatty acids" it gets markedly worse. You see, TFA's muck up the blood-brain barrier to the extent that many necessary brain chemicals just don't get through.From my experience, of course, I have found that people that try marijuana early in life, before they get too jaundiced from societal input of "old poop syndrome", and at least seasonally reprime their own cannabinoid receptors (at least once in a blue moon, I would define it), tend to be markedly more protected from the "cognitive dissonance" switch thingy.Otherwise, if they try marijuana too late in life for the first time, they become so overwhelmed by the truth of the falsity of their long-held notions of negativity about cannabis that the cognitive dissonance switch trips right away and they run away in total denial and might become even more old poopish forever, and from my observation of these types, it is not a very happy sight.I have found, in fact, that even a slight intake of trans fatty acids provokes in myself, an immediate loss of sensitivity to the brain chemical in my meats-for up to 6 days from a single input of TFA, no less.That means that most people that try my meats don't feel a thing-meaning that nobody wants to invest in my research and so since I am broke now, I do not believe I have the means to even get a patent lawyer to even listen to me for even an initial consult.Instead, I am relegated to the ranks of people that are trying to avoid being repeatedly incarcerated as a "seriously mentally impaired person" because I believe in science that doctors still believe (at least here) is "false science" (the thing about neurogenesis). I'm delusional because I believe in neurogenesis, I am grandiose because I believe I have invented something, and because of the cognitive dissonance thingy, the same doctors refuse to even try my meats, out of a voodoo fear of even sounding like they would like to try something new, (they are probably afraid someone would see them even thinking about listening to me about a new idea or something).And then, since they have a totally mucked up blood-brain barrier themselves, they wouldn't feel a thing and they would feel cheated like they were duped by me to believe that the emperor didn't have some magic clothe on or something.I also believe, of course, that in times of war, cognitive dissonance gets worse in the population. And when people have a movie going around like the DaVinci Code, lock-step and knee-jerk reactionary types revert back to an even deeper "stereotypical behavior" syndrome, and retreat into infantile belief patterns which befit, in fact, a further 
"intolerance to ambiguous stimuli" which can actually be traced to an Omega 3 Fatty Acid deficiency syndrome, whereby the person's new brain cells (if that person has not already shut down the factory with alcohol toxicity or the like) get substituted Omega 6 cell walls (or worse, don't get me started on TFA brain cell wall syndrome) which are bitter old poop reactionary Republican straight ticket voter brain cells-think Rush Rush Limbo-you get the idea.Crisco was invented in 1905-that means we have had a full century of trans fatty acid corruption. Margarine came in in the 30's & 40's. Post World War II most large feed mills started to bag livestock feed (and they needed to partially hydrogenate the EFA's so the feed could have a "shelf life"). That means most livestock meat is totally corrupted and the animals could not produce many essential chemicals-we are all long-term deficient in brain chemicals that once were commonplace. Then, in 1982, a Nader promoted lawsuit against various food manufacturors over "saturated fatty acids" was settled by a consent decree that the defendants would substitute "trans fatty acids" yep, you heard that right-which totally corrupted the marketplace (if it wasn't already mucked up enough). Recall that that is right when Reagan started a new crusade against drugs-1984 is when the Illinois treatment with Cannabis program was ditched by the dark riders that stormed into town.To state that it is simple as 4 decades of Omega 3 Fatty Acid depletion which causes most chronic and degenerative conditions would be an oversimplification. However, I do know that cannabis intake does help to bridge the gaps in many peoples' deficiency syndrome. I believe that increasing Omega 3 Fatty Acids (yes, hemp is a well-balanced source, but not enough to correct the imbalance from all other sources-flax seed fed to animals-for balanced meat would be better) brings a person to a place where cannabis intake does not have as marked of a change in mental state.In summation, please note that the FDA just mandated that all food labels clearly denote the levels of TFA's-as of January, 2006. This actually marks the very time that the FDA has just started a trend towards better diet consciousness about TFA's. I actually thanked my local congressman's office personally for something that the FDA has finally done that is good-not bad.Now manufacturors are scrambling to find non-TFA additives for their foods. Switch to butter, please. Get all the margarines out. Stop eating anything with partially hydrogenated stuff.Then contact me after a few weeks and try my meats. I would love visitors to Northwest Iowa for camping on our farm (South of Storm Lake a few miles). Let's call it a party. Don't worry about the Sheriff-he is my friend. Just stay out of Storm Lake because of the heinous police there. Oh, well, thanks for listening. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #61 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 14:35:24 PT
ever easy ? Oops
"Never easy", is what I meant to say.
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Comment #60 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 14:33:40 PT
Don't give up, Paul.
It, probably, was ever easy for a new and innovative idea to take hold. What you're thinking of, could be prevalent in the future. It makes a lot more sense than growing "meat" in tubes. Yeck!Perhaps you could patent your livestock feeding methods.
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Comment #59 posted by paulpeterson on June 22, 2006 at 11:57:10 PT
One further comment
Hey, guys, thanks for the posts in response. One further comment about eating food in general and meat in specific.Whatever dietary protocol one makes for oneself, whatever decisions are made about whether to eat vegan, vegetarian, or fish, or meat, or whatever else, is up to each individual person. (OK, more than one further comment already). However, please note that I believe animals in general have a totally different feeling and belief as to the mysteries of life and death than we as humans have. I believe our own "judgements" about the propriety of raising animals and of killing animals and of eating animals are all hopelessly limited by our own purview as humans (of whatever religious "ilk" and all the baggage we have attached to the issue from such a religious perspective.That being said and stated, I believe it is much more important to analyze many other aspects of the experience, like 1) how we treat animals during their lives, 2) how much respect is accorded to the process in the first place (and the sense of respect given to the act of passing the animal from life to death), 3) how much quality of food intake is considered for the animal, 4) how close is the communion between farmer and farmed (I tend to like to know the animal personally myself-I know that sounds wierd and almost cannibalistic) & 5) from the standpoint of my own research into the brain and diet and chemicals, etc., it appears that plant based Omega 3 fatty acids can never become truly as beneficial or as potent as animal sources (animal types are 10 times as potent and absorbable)-and right now since I am trying to produce an analog and alternative curative product that will do the same medical utility for many brain diseases that cannabis does, since we still are faced with this heinous war against some drugs, etc., I must accept at least some "compromise" of my religious resistance to the idea of killing another higher intellect animal (like bovine or swine).And besides, once I tried, in prayer, to understand just what my animal friends wanted me to do with this concept (after I had had them done in, that is) I thought I would ask them myself-the auspicious "response" I felt was that they wanted me to do good with the products, since they were already offed and all, or something like it.And now, since I tied to get publicity in the first place locally, in the decriminalization advocacy, since the paper didn't want to even want to listen about the brain chemical in the meats, now I have been so discredited to stop the decriminalization effort in its tracks that nobody will ever want to listen about the meat thingy now.So my effort to get something started so people would listen about my ultimate goal when it became time for that, has instead, steeled the "good old boy network" against me so harshly that now nobody will even listen to me about my true goal-to try to find an alternative, "legal" way to help people with Alzheimer's & Parkinson's.Good story? (Sorry about the "one further comment" that became many-Hey! Is that what Jesus did with that one basket of fish turning into many baskets?)I'm done now, at least, at least for now. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #58 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 09:43:05 PT
Don't get me wrong.
I had a homemade hamburger last night.Even as a vegetarian, I still used eggs...so I wasn't completely vegan.The poor creatures we eat have my respect and appreciation, and I am grateful for them and what they give us...but it still feels a bit bad. 
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Comment #57 posted by afterburner on June 22, 2006 at 09:35:48 PT
#52 'paw dance'
Fascinating, Paul!
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Comment #56 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 09:33:40 PT
The only way to really know what was
fed to the meat you eat is to raise it yourself...or have someone you trust to raise the animal to your standards.We always tried very hard to find plain stuff, no additives or antibiotics, to feed the animals we butchered.I have an aversion to raising my own meat, personally. I've done it, but I didn't like it. I have an aversion to butchering, preparing and eating animals. I'd rather not "know them" before they suffer and die to feed me and mine.Yeah, they taste good and make a person feel better often...but it's still hard.They really do have lives and spirits and personalities. Even fish do! It's one of the more unpleasant facts of life as we know it.
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Comment #55 posted by whig on June 22, 2006 at 09:18:48 PT
Paul
You are not crazy. What you said made perfect sense to me. There was a very interesting interview on the Colbert Report last week about how the American diet is almost all corn. Corn is fed to our livestock, it is turned into corn syrup to sweeten everything, it is eaten directly.That might have been a slight overstatement but it did make a strong case for diversified diet. The Irish potato famine was caused when the people not only didn't have potatoes to eat but nothing to feed their livestock so there really was nothing to eat at all.But you make a further important point that we aren't even dealing with corn (or other grain) in their natural form, but processed, hydrogenated, trans-fatty derivatives that are not part of any kind of natural diet, and this also is unavoidable even if we think we are, because it is fed to the livestock too.Of course the most natural feedstock that provides a balance of oils in their best proportions and without artificial processing is -- hemp.I don't know where someone could even get meat that was fed a proper diet but I'd rather buy organic than not, if it weren't *twice* as expensive. It's a difficult problem for everyone that isn't independently wealthy, because eating food which is less healthy is less expensive and many of us cannot afford to eat enough if we had to spend that much more.
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Comment #54 posted by Hope on June 22, 2006 at 09:14:26 PT
Hey, Paul.
Sounds like you're busy.It's sad that a supposed doctor acts like yours...and so many people are at his mercy...which is likely deficient.I'd like to see you avoid that doctor...he might see to it that you wound up at his mercy again.But, if there's anything I know about you, Paul, it's that you are going to do it...whatever it is...your way.Please take care.(I know...Herbdoc said the women here were "Mother Hens", but ...well...even "Mother Hens" have their place and duty in life and this one wants you to be careful.)
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Comment #53 posted by FoM on June 22, 2006 at 09:04:59 PT
Paul
Thank you for sharing your experiences here with us. You know so much more then I have ever thought about. I wish people could afford honest to goodness healthy food but it is out of the budget of most americans.
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Comment #52 posted by paulpeterson on June 22, 2006 at 08:37:36 PT
Hope & FoM
Yesterday I had the most interesting day. Towards the end of a long trip and many visits, I stopped by the "mental health institute" in Cherokee, Iowa, where the local goons had me interred for 6 weeks to discredit my decriminalization advocacy. I wanted to chat with the good doctor there, that had opined that I was delusional and manic, based mostly, it would seem, on my misplaced belief in "neurogenesis" whereby adult primates get new brain cells every day, when they are in good health, of course. I had written some articles on the subject, to enlighten the doctor, so that he would jettison the archaic paradigm that we get no new warriors after birth (shattered by Elizabeth Gould at Princeton University in 1999).This is indeed pivotal and salient, you see, because of that Saskatoon, Canada study from November, 2006 that found that HU 210 (a synthetic cannabinoid 200 times as powerful as THC) actually produced new brain cells via "neurogenesis" in the hippocampus that helped cure traditional rat anxiety and depression.Well, back to Elizabeth Gould for a moment-she found that when small primates are placed in small cages, the neurogenesis stops and the hippocampus withers and brain cells die and dendrites wither and chemicals at the synaptic junction decrease-all bad effects.Now back to the doctor at the shrink hotel. He looked me right in the face yesterday and got really defensive and really crabby and really vicious as he told me he doesn't buy my "neurogenesis" argument-you can't get new brain cells in the grey matter-all plasticity is caused by production of new dendrites (which does, occur, of course, especially where animals are placed in "enriched environments" and stimulated by new ideas).But to sit there and listen to a supposedly learned doctor that controls the lives of many "inmates" that are placed in small cages and then expected to not wither away and keep their own spirits up when all spirit is killed in them was indeed-thought provoking for me.Now lets go to the hospital kitchen. There they cook everything in margarine, that is chock full of trans fatty acids-which block the blood-brain barrier and keep many potential "neurogenesis" chemicals from getting to the target areas-After I was allowed to be a free man in March, 2006, after having to eat their junk food diet for 6 weeks, no less, it took me a full 6 weeks to again feel the intake from eating my own diet enriched meats (beef and pork). Yes, I had those animals eating a trans fatty acid free diet-which is how the animals became a varitable pharmocopia themselves-Now this is hitting home. This doctor is so mucked up he wouldn't be able to believe a new idea if it hit him right in the face-which I did, of course, since I am a new idea really (yes, I am a new idea that resides in human form right now).People, get the margarine out of your diets. Stop eating anything in a wrapper that gives a long shelf life. Stop eating traditional meat products which are "farmed" since they all are fed trans fatty acid diets (and they are what they eat, you know).Now lets go to a mouse study. Scientists starved mice of Omega 3 fatty acids and found that when placed in a maze that they had learned quite well, when a fear provoking "event" was placed overhead, like a cat perched to strike-the starved mice would revert to "stereotypical behavior" like running around in circles or doing a "paw dance" they learned when pup mice. They couldn't think on their feet-their brains would freeze up like an old 386. Normal mice would be able to calmly assess the situation and take evasive measures.A few years ago, when I first saw that study, I used my visualization program to try to extrapolate to a human population-I imagined that the mouse maze was a human maze-the rectangular pathways became streets in a city. The mice became lttle specks of painted transportation modules (humans would call them "kars" or something like that). I took a deep breath and asked my "handlers" to visualize what the "fear provoking event" would look like. Suddenly I saw, in my mental pallet two rather stark vertical units appear, I think we would call them "bildings" and then, as suddenly as they appeared, I saw them crumble to the ground, as though they had disappeared into the ground from some disruption of the roots of the trees. I got it immediately, of course-and then suddenly it appeared really simple-911 caused all of the omega 3 deficient persons to immediately do a paw dance and cloak our leader in ultimate power and control. Everybody ran around in circles and we lost all rights and freedoms.Now back to the doctor that was so rigidly clinging to an archaic paradigm. I think they also call this "cognitive dissonance" where actual observation is overruled by assumptions. Oh well, I am done now, but thanks for listening. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #51 posted by FoM on June 20, 2006 at 20:27:51 PT
 Hope 
I really mean that too. I know that if the laws on cannabis changed tomorrow and CNews wasn't needed it would be fine with me. I want CNews to not be needed. I don't want to keep going round and round like we have for so many years. It might take a little longer but maybe in a few years things might change for the better. 
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Comment #50 posted by Hope on June 20, 2006 at 20:21:20 PT
I hope that, too.
"I hope that there will be no more people hurt and that the war against us soon ends." 
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Comment #49 posted by FoM on June 20, 2006 at 20:15:57 PT
Paul
I was busy today around home and I missed your post. I hope that there will be no more people hurt and that the war against us soon ends. 
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Comment #48 posted by paulpeterson on June 20, 2006 at 08:47:18 PT
FoM
You are right, of course, that we are on course for change, and you are correct, that there will be a last warrior killed in the fight, somewhere, sometime. Let us hope that that has already happened, so no new warriors must give the supreme price.Keep the faith, baby. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #47 posted by b4daylight on June 19, 2006 at 21:57:12 PT
WTF
“The ordinance sends the wrong message to the community and removes the current emphasis on education and assessment,” he said.And driving a motor vehicle sends the right message?
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on June 19, 2006 at 08:23:16 PT
Paul
I worry because this administration is on it's way out and they are mad. Hopefully we will get a lot of Democrats to take their place this fall with elections. I honestly believe that if we have more Democrats in control we will see the laws on Cannabis changed. If Republicans stay in power I don't think we will see change for many years concerning Cannabis. I am almost holding my breath until elections are over. I don't want anyone to be the last soldier killed in a war.
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Comment #45 posted by paulpeterson on June 19, 2006 at 08:11:32 PT
FoM
No, you don't sound like a broken record at all. But I must say, in response to your courtesy, that once a warrior has taken on a cause as just as we both obviously have, there is no such thing as being safe and careful, without first sacrificing the aim itself, which is to run like the wind and run with the wind until change occurs.Thank you for your intent to guide and gird and goad other warriors with truth and justice, just pray for safety and care for all those who toil thusly. Over and out. PAUL
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on June 19, 2006 at 07:54:15 PT
Paul
I always look forward to your visits here on CNews. These are very difficult times so I know I sound like a broken record but please, please, please stay safe and be careful.
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Comment #43 posted by paulpeterson on June 19, 2006 at 07:39:59 PT
FoM
Good collection of posts on this thread. I especially liked the juxtaposition of race, witchcraft, Israeli blood pressure news, 911, Wisconsin County Decrim & Des Moines advocate (with a former meth problem-now with MS) & the overblown meth "epidemic" all together in one grand dame of news about marijuana issues. Please, don't yell at me for the ones that I missed, please.This is just a really good microcosm of the news plethera.And yesterday morning I just got to view the arrest video from my incident where I complained about a boy without a coat in January in 19 degrees. Within 50 seconds of police attention placed my way, I stated the inhumanity of the situation, was told to get back in my truck, then immediately handcuffed without being given any chance to respond, slammed down on a squad car and then ushered across the view of the fixed minicam in the squad car.These goons both stated in official police reports that I repeatedly refused to leave the scene of police action, after they repeatedly demanded that I do so. But I have an independent eye-witness that stated on a video interview that they never gave me a chance to even respond.Now this 50 second turn around from attention to escort to the squad proves and corroborates my and the witness story.Too bad the police cam tape has some doctor office music dubbed over every voice outside of the police car. But the timing is certainly indicative.Oh yeah, thanks FoM for posting the Wisconsin story. I will appear before my own county board tomorrow to update them with this one.And about that Des Moines story? I have already contacted that writer and done an oped to the DM paper. Good work.Just thought I would check in. Now I have an out of town judge reviewing both cases they filed against me. My friendly court clerk told me last week she had spoken with the new judge (he obviously called her).I told her if I was a judge, I wouldn't want to do anything without seeing a transcript of my "commitment hearing" in February-where my procedural due process rights were violated. I briefed that in court a few weeks ago and then last a new case came out from the Iowa Supreme Court specifically noting and denoting how and where a judge violates (my) procedural due process rights-when he takes an "adversarial role" and guides the case "down the road" which the former judge did clearly.The clerk actually told me then that is why the judge called her-he wants that tape. Maybe this guy is thinking like a real judge after all!Now, of course, I am really glad that I have published proof that I made claims about marijuana decrim. before the vicious prosecution of me began-that proves a "political defendant" status.I will, of course, update you with any press I get in the near future in this little backwater town in Northwest Iowa. Over and out. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #42 posted by John Tyler on June 18, 2006 at 07:27:45 PT
moving on
Cannabis is a plant with many, many fine and useful properties as food, fuel, fiber and medicine. I am glad to see that people are overcoming decades of propaganda and beginning to understand this. Only the detractors and those that don’t understand lump it together with the term “drugs”. Cannabis is good for the environment. It is good for the economy. It is good for us. It is a great wrong that it is illegal. 
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on June 18, 2006 at 07:23:48 PT
Toker00
Thank you for the links and Happy Father's Day to all the Father's everywhere. The drywall contractor's son, that was working at our home, is leaving to return to the Marines. The whole family is so sorry he every joined the Armed Services. He is stationed in Japan for now but soon he will be on his way to Iraq. What a pity. 
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Comment #40 posted by Toker00 on June 18, 2006 at 06:52:16 PT
Happy Father's day !
Happy Fathers's day to you and your's. If you know a family whose father is in Iraq, maybe you could call, or visit, or e-mail them a special prayer. The whole family sacrifices when a Father goes to war.Toke.
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Comment #39 posted by Toker00 on June 18, 2006 at 06:41:26 PT
LINKS
1. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/realworld.shtml2. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/fentanylods.shtml3. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/opinions.shtml4. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/hempbills.shtml5. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/bookandvideo.shtml6. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/rainbowfarmbook.shtml7. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/hinchey.shtml8. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/colombiavote.shtml9. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/doyouread.shtml10. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/thisweek1.shtml11. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/noknocking.shtml12. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/whatepidemic.shtml13. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/forsale.shtml14. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/italy.shtml15. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/ukmethlaw.shtml16. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/aflop.shtml17. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/thisweek2.shtml18. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/440/calendar.shtmlThey are mostly recaps of what we read here, but now in a convenient post at C-news!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #38 posted by Toker00 on June 18, 2006 at 06:23:12 PT
More news clips.
The titles are active links in my e-mail, but I don't think they will be active posted here. Anyway, just a general idea of what's going on around us. 	Drug War Chronicle
A publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug ProhibitionIssue #440, 6/16/06
 
subscribe | unsubscribe | update subscription address | switch to plain text edition
switch to full-text edition | donate | tell-a-friend | Chronicle archives | DRCNet home pageYour Help Needed with Upcoming Medical Marijuana VoteLegalization Video and Books Available for Supporting DRCNet -- offers here and hereTABLE OF CONTENTS   	
   	
   danger (not) knocking at your door  1. EDITORIAL: REAL WORLD CONSEQUENCES
   One of the regularly repeating outrages in the drug war is that of innocent people terrorized, physically harmed or killed in drug raids gone bad. The court has decided this is okay -- which means we have to say it's not.
  2. FEATURE: DEATH TOLL CLIMBS AS FENTANYL-LACED HEROIN ODS SPREAD
   With 14 deaths being linked by Chicago authorities to heroin laced with fentanyl in a two-day period last week, the nationwide death toll in a wave of ODs tied to the powerful synthetic opiate continues to rise.
  3. FEATURE: AMONG WHITES, IMPRISONING DRUG USERS A MINORITY OPINION, SURVEY FINDS
   Most Americans favor treatment, not prison time, for drug users. Those who don't are more likely to make moral judgments about drug users, more likely to deny that racism is a problem in the US, and more likely to buy into misconceptions about who uses drugs.
  4. FEATURE: INDUSTRIAL HEMP PUSH UNDERWAY IN CALIFORNIA, NORTH DAKOTA
   Moves are afoot in California and North Dakota to win approval of industrial hemp production at the state level, but the ultimate goal is removing the federal government as an obstacle to domestic cultivation of the valuable and versatile plant.
  5. OFFER AND APPEAL: IMPORTANT NEW LEGALIZATION VIDEO AND DRUG WAR FACTS BOOK AVAILABLE
   Get your copy of the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition video that Walter Cronkite called a "must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with [the drug] issue."
  6. BOOK OFFER: BURNING RAINBOW FARM: HOW A STONER UTOPIA WENT UP IN SMOKE
   In fall 2001, activists Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm were gunned down by state and federal agents, after desperation drove them to set fire to the buildings on their beloved Rainbow Farm campground and concert site. A new book tells the heart-wrenching story.
  7. ALERT: IMPORTANT MEDICAL MARIJUANA VOTE COMING UP IN CONGRESS -- YOUR HELP NEEDED
   This July, the US House of Representatives will vote again on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment, which if passed will forbid the US Dept. of Justice from interfering with state medical marijuana laws. It's crucial that more members of Congress vote for medical marijuana this year than did last year.
  8. FOLLOW-UP: COLOMBIA AMENDMENT RESULTS
   Special thanks to the more than 1,000 DRCNet subscribers who lobbied Congress to reduce aerial fumigation funding. We lost, but the numbers are getting close.
  9. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
   Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to funders. We need donations too.
 10. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
   Three bad apples from North Carolina, a former Minnesota cop dealing powder, a Connecticut cop passing out favors, another Border Patrol officer goes down, and so does yet another prison guard.
 11. SEARCH AND SEIZURE: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS SEARCHES WITHOUT NOTICE
   In a ruling overturning decades of precedent and centuries of common law tradition, the US Supreme Court has allowed police with a search warrant to enter homes and seize evidence without knocking.
 12. METHAMPHETAMINE: EPIDEMIC? WHAT EPIDEMIC? STUDY ASKS
   The extent of methamphetamine use in the United States is overplayed and exaggerated by the news media and politicians, the widely-respected think tank The Sentencing Project said in a study released this week.
 13. LAW ENFORCEMENT: JUSTICE FOR SALE IN WASHINGTON BORDER COUNTY
   If you've got cash, you can "buy down" the charges against you and walk away from a serious drug bust in Whatcom County, Washington. If you don't have the cash, too bad for you, the hammer will fall.
 14. EUROPE: NEW ITALIAN GOVERNMENT TO MOVE TO "REDUCE DAMAGE" OF TOUGH DRUG LAW
   As one of its last legacies, the rightist government of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi passed a tough new drug law treating people in possession of more than five grams of marijuana or similarly small amounts of other drugs as if they were dealers. The new government is moving to scale it back.
 15. EUROPE: BRITAIN TO RECLASSIFY METHAMPHETAMINE AS CLASS A DRUG
   A move to lump meth together with heroin and cocaine would bump sentences up to seven years for possession and life for dealing in Great Britain.
 16. CANADA: FEDERAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM A FLOP, AIDS SOCIETY SAYS
   The Canadian government's medical marijuana program is not working, the Canadian AIDS Society said in a report released Wednesday.
 17. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
   Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
 18. WEEKLY: THE REFORMER'S CALENDAR
   Showing up at an event can be the best way to get involved! Check out this week's listings for events from today through next year, across the US and around the world! 
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on June 18, 2006 at 06:21:10 PT
Comment 19!
Instead of 119.
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Comment #36 posted by global_warming on June 18, 2006 at 05:58:04 PT
re: comment 34
I guess next we will be reading that Bolivia is on that list of axis of evil, and a whole lot of that rule of law buzzword..
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on June 18, 2006 at 05:18:06 PT
Posting
I still haven't found where I should have put that post to Lombar. But it was wonderful news in Canada, I think.
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Comment #34 posted by lombar on June 18, 2006 at 04:22:29 PT
A move to the left in South America
Former Coca farmer trying to fight poverty with his nationalised industries while we are growing the poverty gap with the 'free market' and concentrations of debt-based (illusory) wealth. How dare he spend the wealth of the country on the people ... No seat at the NWO table for you Evo ;)Bolivia outlines ambitious plans to fight poverty LA PAZ, Bolivia, June 17 (Reuters) - The leftist government of Bolivian President Evo Morales has detailed ambitious public-private plans to ease poverty and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in South America's poorest country.Morales was elected in December on pledges to champion the rights of the poor, indigenous majority and reject free-market economic policies that have done little to ease poverty in Bolivia.lombar: and have done so much to create more poverty in the US & Canada by shipping jobs to low wage countries The economic development plan aims to create 90,000 jobs per year, eliminate illiteracy, build 100,000 homes and cut extreme poverty from 35 percent to 27 percent within five years. It also aims at a sharp increase in economic growth.{clipped}
the rest of the article.
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Comment #33 posted by global_warming on June 18, 2006 at 03:24:35 PT
While nearby in Indiana
http://tinyurl.com/qag58Legislators learn about medical, industrial hemp
June 18, 2006Hey isn't the home of that Honorable Mark Souder-Current U.S. law prevents states from deciding whether to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, but this restriction could be changed. The Industrial Farming Hemp Act of 2005, currently under review by House committees, seeks to amend the Controlled Substances Act and exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana.The act would also empower each state with “exclusive authority” to regulate growing and processing hemp. 
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Comment #32 posted by whig on June 17, 2006 at 23:48:34 PT
Speaking of other threads
So I've decloaked myself on FDL.http://tinyurl.com/jlmjg
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on June 17, 2006 at 21:54:13 PT
Uh oh
I'd say I somehow posted that on the wrong thread.
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Comment #30 posted by Hope on June 17, 2006 at 21:53:07 PT
Comment 119 Lombar
Wonderful!
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Comment #29 posted by Wayne on June 17, 2006 at 18:34:47 PT
RE: FoxXxXxXxX News Alert!!!!
Didn't see the meth story on there, but they had about 4 different ones for bird flu. I swear every time I see a commentator say the words 'bird flu' it makes me want to reach through the TV and hit them on the head with a tackhammer. It's the FLU for God's sake! Did we give up on AIDS or what?
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Comment #28 posted by SystemGoneDown on June 17, 2006 at 16:57:33 PT
FoXxXxXxX News Alert!!!!
Did you guys hear the new story that Fox News released? They basically said that the methamphetamines epidemic in America is lower than depicted? I don't have the link but if you go to www.foxnews.com, you might find it. I think this is total propoganda, anybody else? From personal opinion and experience I can say that "tweakers" are an epidemic in America and FoxNews is just trying to play it down. I've had friends and relatives become speed users while although I personally have been curious, I stuck to weed. 
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Comment #27 posted by Wayne on June 17, 2006 at 13:07:00 PT
behold the power of cheese
Gotta love Wisconsin.La Crosse County Sheriff Michael Weissenberger voiced strong opposition to the ordinance. “How do we know the person didn’t just get done selling more of it?” he said.--Well, Sheriff, how do YOU know the person DID? Idiot.“The ordinance sends the wrong message to the community and removes the current emphasis on education and assessment,” Mr. Horne said.--Umm, Mr. Horne, the emphasis is on criminal punishment. That's why the ordinance came about in the first place. Idiot. (I think I'm seeing a trend here...)I only offer thanks to the good Lord that the county board is using the brains that He blessed them with.
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Comment #26 posted by lombar on June 17, 2006 at 12:46:04 PT
Canadian Propaganda
Canadian propaganda is laced with associations between meth and cannabis. The conservatives here do not miss a chance to put the two together. Being an addictive personality, I have no use for something that hooks 8 out of 10 people after only one use. 80% addiction rate! The key to meth fighting is education. If someone really thinks a few hours/days of pleasure is worth destroying braincells then they must be quite short of them anyway. Yet prohibition only keeps many people from seeking treatment, creates the 'meth' lab problem, and gives society a new hated group. Cannabis users are often useful and productive, demanding rights, so society needs a new scapegoat. The root causes of problems are never addressed, just an endless dance of conflicting desires.I want the whole drug trade taken from the criminals now, not just cannabis. The poppy fields, the coca plantations, would be about as valuable as coffee plantations instead of diamond mines. If those two were legal, there would not be many people doing meth. I would think that here we would understand the folly of the whole war on drugs, albeit misdirected and focused on cannabis, has to end in its entirety. Literally, pick your poison.What test of character is resisting temptation because you are restrained by another? Is not the true test of character the ability to refuse temptation in its midst? 
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on June 17, 2006 at 12:32:31 PT
Snipped Source: DesMoinesRegister.com
Hansen: Nothing Can Ease His Pain Quite Like Marijuana***By Marc Hansen, Register ColumnistJune 17, 2006I'd planned to visit Ray Lakers in the Polk County Jail. But when it was time to make arrangements, he was already gone.The place was overbooked, so they shipped him to Bethany, Mo., an hour and a half away.A week later they slipped the shackles on Lakers again, put him in a van, shipped him back to Des Moines and let him loose.Not that Bethany isn't a wonderful place. It's just a long way to go to pay your debt to society for a crime that isn't against the law in at least a dozen other states.Maybe the government can't find a better way to spend the time and money.Last August, the cops found less than a gram of marijuana in Lakers' car during a traffic stop near his south-side home. They pulled him over for speeding but he ended up in jail for breaking probation when he failed a drug test.That was no surprise. About two years ago, Lakers woke up one morning and couldn't move his right leg. He thought he'd had a stroke.No stroke, the doctor said. Multiple sclerosis.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606170324
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on June 17, 2006 at 08:38:58 PT
Afterburner 
I agree.Cannabis is a plant. Let is grow. It's health benefits are many. 
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Comment #23 posted by afterburner on June 17, 2006 at 07:30:59 PT
And
Media outlets that report stories and mention only the generic word "drug" are irresponsible, blur the distinctions between different drug effects and dangers, and fuel the public's fear of drugs. This is less prevalent today than 30 years ago, but it still goes on in some places. This is also the problem with the "Drug Free" concept. It is used indiscriminately.Cannabis is a plant. Let is grow. It's health benefits are many. 
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on June 17, 2006 at 07:13:41 PT

John Tyler 
I don't even want to give Meth the time of day. First I think it is a terrible drug and I have no use for it from my own personal experience from back in the 70s. There is another reason I don't like to do those scare stories on drugs. I believe if we jump on the news bandwagon about Meth then we are fueling their spin and soon Cannabis gets attached to Meth or other hard drugs. We can hurt our own efforts if we allow them to get our goat.
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Comment #21 posted by John Tyler on June 17, 2006 at 07:01:13 PT

Meth in the News
There was an article in my local paper about this recently. It was from some non-governmental survey. (I will post it if I see it again.) Basically, they said that the “meth epidemic” was overblown media hype that some opportunistic politicos have latched on to for their own gain. There are some areas of the country where it is widely used, but not the epidemic we have heard about. I live in the mid Atlantic section and it is not here. I haven’t seen it in the news here and I don’t know anyone who has tried it. We have other stuff, but very little or no meth.
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Comment #20 posted by mayan on June 17, 2006 at 05:23:47 PT

Unrelated
I was just watching all of the major cable news channels parroting the same lines about Bush getting a "bounce" in the polls out of his Iraq visit, the formation of the new Iraqi government and the death of Al Zarqawi. Well, sorry to bust the neo-con bubble but it's time for his ratings to go back down...Baghdad security crackdown has little effect - More than 30 killed in fresh strikes; U.S. searches for 2 missing soldiers: 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13355608/How sad.Anyway, after the usual hogwash, CNN Headline News was showing folks protesting Bush's New Mexico visit in Albuquerque - live. Most folks had anti-war signs but one guy walked right behind the correspondent holding a big white sign with big black letters that said "9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!". Oh man, was it beautiful!!! Bet they don't show that guy again! The word is getting around...Top Experts To Expose 9/11 Fraud At L.A. Conference, June 24-25: 
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2006/240506laconference.htmSpread it!
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Comment #19 posted by lombar on June 17, 2006 at 00:16:45 PT

Irony
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837Author: Rwin Loy, 24 HoursVPD WON'T ATTEND DRUG OVERDOSESPolice Board DecisionIn a bid to reduce overdose deaths, Vancouver police will no longer attend drug overdose incidents with paramedics.Drug users will not have to fear arrest if they are in trouble, say police, although officers will still accompany paramedics to "suspicious" incidents.The idea is to encourage drug users to act quickly to get help if they overdose.The policy is based on research from Australia that showed drug overdose deaths decrease when police stop laying charges for drug use.
The department has used this as an interim overdose policy for the past two years, but made it official at its police board meeting yesterday afternoon.----------
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Comment #18 posted by mayan on June 16, 2006 at 17:31:17 PT

A Better Message
“The ordinance sends the wrong message to the community and removes the current emphasis on education and assessment,” he (District Attorney Scott Horne) said.Thanks to education, Mr. Horne's precious prohibition has been critically assessed, albeit mildly!But like Horne, La Crosse County Sheriff Michael Weissenberger voiced strong opposition to the ordinance. Marijuana possession, even in small amounts, is reason for concern, he said.“How do we know the person didn’t just get done selling more of it?” he said.Well, how do we know a person without cannabis didn't just get done selling ALL of it? Everyone should be incarcerated until they can prove that they didn't just sell all of their weed. Cage 'em all!On an unrelated note, here's an interesting read...Congresswoman 'Apologizes' for Not Taking Allegations of Stolen 2004 Election Seriously!
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=2963THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...ABC Affiliate Covers Steven Jones Presentation at Salt Lake Community College:
http://tinyurl.com/klmr7Unquestioned Answers: Nonconspiracy theorist David Ray Griffin takes aim at the official 9/11 story:
http://bohemian.com/bohemian/06.14.06/david-ray-griffin-0624.htmlThe legendary Webster G. Tarpley speaking in North Idaho 
Sat., June 17: 
http://www.waronfreedom.org/tarpley/idaho.htmlWhat's The Truth? How Indeed Did The Twin Towers Collapse? (video):
http://www.archive.org/details/Whats_The_Truth-How_Indeed_Did_The_Twin_Towers_Collapse
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on June 16, 2006 at 17:29:27 PT

News Article from Technology Review
Revealing How Marijuana Affects the Brain***A new imaging method could show how cannabinoids affect diseases like schizophrenia.By Emily SingerFriday, June 16, 2006Scientists have long known that the brain possesses natural chemicals similar to marijuana. While little is known about their precise function in the brain, studies suggest that these compounds, known as cannabinoids, and the receptors they bind to, play a role in diseases, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and obesity. Now researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a way to image cannabinoid receptors in living animals. The tool will help scientists figure out how these receptors are altered in drug addiction and disease, as well as helping pharmaceutical companies to design drugs that better target this system. "This is a real breakthrough," says Richard Frank, vice president of medical affairs at GE Healthcare in Princeton, NJ. "Scientists have long believed that the cannabinoid system is involved in diseases, but they've never been able to measure the receptor in living people's brains." The new tracer acts as a receptor antagonist -- meaning it blocks the receptor but does not activate it. That's important, says Frank, because the compound has no pharmacologic effect. In other words, it doesn't make the user feel "high." Complete Article: http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=biotech&sc=&id=16994&pg=1
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on June 16, 2006 at 17:01:45 PT

News Article from NBC 4
West Hollywood To Consider Easing Enforcement Of Marijuana Laws*** June 16, 2006WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Pot smokers wouldn't have to worry about possessing small amounts of marijuana in West Hollywood -- or smoking it in private -- if the community's City Council adopts a proposed resolution on Monday.The resolution would instruct the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which patrols West Hollywood, not to target adults who possess small amounts of marijuana or smoke the herb in private, city officials said.Minors and drug dealers would still be subject to arrest, and smoking in public would still be prohibited.The council has already voted to allow dispensaries of medical marijuana under the state's compassionate care law approved by voters in a statewide initiative, said Councilman John Duran. 
 Several dispensaries that sell medical marijuana to patients with a doctor's prescription for the drug have been operating in the community for more than a year.The community also has a large gay population, some of whom are living with HIV, and Duran said some patients use marijuana to relieve side effects from AIDS medications."Council was unanimous earlier on in supporting medicinal use of marijuana," he said. "This goes a step further. As far as I know, we're the first city in Southern California to attempt to do this. A couple of my colleagues are somewhat conservative -- not sure what they'll do -- but I believe it'll pass."Duran said he believes the resolution will get the three out of five votes needed to pass. If approved, the new rules would go into effect "immediately," he said.The council decided to take up the issue to avoid a costly ballot initiative regarding marijuana use being pushed by a local marijuana advocacy group called the West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance.If the council approves the resolution, the group has agreed to drop its initiative, which would save the city thousands of dollars, Duran said.The policy change was initially proposed as an ordinance, but was changed to a resolution to avoid conflicts with state and federal laws, Duran said.An ordinance is a law, while a resolution would merely send law enforcement the message that they should "focus on more serious crimes," he said."Under state law, possession of marijuana is still illegal under the California Health and Safety Code," Duran said. "We cannot pass laws that contradict state or federal law, but we can give direction to our sheriff's department that we consider marijuana for personal use to be a very low priority and that (officers) instead focus on more serious crimes in the city of West Hollywood."Duran noted that after the council passed another resolution recommending that officers not arrest couples engaging in sex acts in cars that the number of such arrests went down.According to Duran, the city asked law enforcement to merely "tap on the window of the car and say `go home,"' instead of arresting couples found having sex in cars, which legally constitutes lewd conduct and a crime.He added that if deputies ignored the council's resolution, the city could opt to not renew the sheriff's contract to operate in West Hollywood and contract with another police department such as Beverly Hills, or start its own police department.Although a resolution regarding small amounts of marijuana would not be binding on the sheriff's department, Duran said he expects deputies would comply."I think, deep down, they really feel the same way we do," he said. Copyright 2006 by NBC4.tv. City News Service contributed to this report. http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9385209/detail.html

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Comment #15 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 16:55:42 PT

Cannabis
Brings you closerTo the blood of the Christ
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Comment #14 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 16:40:18 PT

how do you feel?
Is there something wrong,has that path that you' have listened for a time,Cannabis can heal you,
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Comment #13 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 16:12:25 PT

unless
you can seethe blood of the Christ,and the heart of this world,
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 15:48:38 PT

it does
and also castes the judges and lawyers, as incompetent idiots who should seek psychiatric counseling,given our current bloat of corruption,There is no known way to buy Eternity,
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Comment #11 posted by whig on June 16, 2006 at 15:37:58 PT

gw 
Puts the Defense of Marriage Act in some context, doesn't it?
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Comment #10 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 15:34:51 PT

It gets worse
The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary
by Douglas LinderO Christian Martyr Who for Truth could die
When all about thee Owned the hideous lie!
The world, redeemed from superstition's sway,
Is breathing freer for thy sake today.
--Words written by John Greenleaf Whittier and inscribed on a monument marking the grave of Rebecca Nurse, one of the condemned "witches" of Salem.    From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft. Dozens languished in jail for months without trials. Then, almost as soon as it had begun, the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts ended.    Why did this travesty of justice occur? Why did it occur in Salem? Nothing about this tragedy was inevitable. Only an unfortunate combination of an ongoing frontier war, economic conditions, congregational strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies can account for the spiraling accusations, trials, and executions that occurred in the spring and summer of 1692.     In 1688, John Putnam, one of the most influential elders of Salem Village, invited Samuel Parris, formerly a marginally successful planter and merchant in Barbados, to preach in the Village church. A year later, after negotiations over salary, inflation adjustments, and free firewood, Parris accepted the job as Village minister. He moved to Salem Village with his wife Elizabeth, his six-year-old daughter Betty, niece Abagail Williams, and his Indian slave Tituba, acquired by Parris in Barbados.     The Salem that became the new home of Parris was in the midst of change: a mercantile elite was beginning to develop, prominent people were becoming less willing to assume positions as town leaders, two clans (the Putnams and the Porters) were competing for control of the village and its pulpit, and a debate was raging over how independent Salem Village, tied more to the interior agricultural regions, should be from Salem, a center of sea trade.     Sometime during February of the exceptionally cold winter of 1692, young Betty Parris became strangely ill. She dashed about, dove under furniture, contorted in pain, and complained of fever. The cause of her symptoms may have been some combination of stress, asthma, guilt, child abuse, epilepsy, and delusional psychosis, but there were other theories. Cotton Mather had recently published a popular book, "Memorable Providences," describing the suspected witchcraft of an Irish washerwoman in Boston, and Betty's behavior in some ways mirrored that of the afflicted person described in Mather's widely read and discussed book. It was easy to believe in 1692 in Salem, with an Indian war raging less than seventy miles away (and many refugees from the war in the area) that the devil was close at hand. Sudden and violent death occupied minds.     Talk of witchcraft increased when other playmates of Betty, including eleven-year-old Ann Putnam, seventeen-year-old Mercy Lewis, and Mary Walcott, began to exhibit similar unusual behavior. When his own nostrums failed to effect a cure, William Griggs, a doctor called to examine the girls, suggested that the girls' problems might have a supernatural origin. The widespread belief that witches targeted children made the doctor's diagnosis seem increasing likely.     A neighbor, Mary Sibley, proposed a form of counter magic. She told Tituba to bake a rye cake with the urine of the afflicted victim and feed the cake to a dog. ( Dogs were believed to be used by witches as agents to carry out their devilish commands.) By this time, suspicion had already begun to focus on Tituba, who had been known to tell the girls tales of omens, voodoo, and witchcraft from her native folklore. Her participation in the urine cake episode made her an even more obvious scapegoat for the inexplicable.     Meanwhile, the number of girls afflicted continued to grow, rising to seven with the addition of Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, and Mary Warren. According to historian Peter Hoffer, the girls "turned themselves from a circle of friends into a gang of juvenile delinquents." ( Many people of the period complained that young people lacked the piety and sense of purpose of the founders' generation.) The girls contorted into grotesque poses, fell down into frozen postures, and complained of biting and pinching sensations. In a village where everyone believed that the devil was real, close at hand, and acted in the real world, the suspected affliction of the girls became an obsession.     Sometime after February 25, when Tituba baked the witch cake, and February 29, when arrest warrants were issued against Tituba and two other women, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams named their afflictors and the witchhunt began. The consistency of the two girls' accusations suggests strongly that the girls worked out their stories together. Soon Ann Putnam and Mercy Lewis were also reporting seeing "witches flying through the winter mist." The prominent Putnam family supported the girls' accusations, putting considerable impetus behind the prosecutions.     The first three to be accused of witchcraft were Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn. Tituba was an obvious choice (LINK TO TITUBA'S EXAMINATION). Good was a beggar and social misfit who lived wherever someone would house her (LINK TO GOOD'S EXAMINATION) (LINK TO GOOD'S TRIAL), and Osborn was old, quarrelsome, and had not attended church for over a year. The Putnams brought their complaint against the three women to county magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, who scheduled examinations for the suspected witches for March 1, 1692 in Ingersoll's tavern. When hundreds showed up, the examinations were moved to the meeting house. At the examinations, the girls described attacks by the specters of the three women, and fell into their by then perfected pattern of contortions when in the presence of one of the suspects. Other villagers came forward to offer stories of cheese and butter mysteriously gone bad or animals born with deformities after visits by one of the suspects.The magistrates, in the common practice of the time, asked the same questions of each suspect over and over: Were they witches? Had they seen Satan? How, if they are were not witches, did they explain the contortions seemingly caused by their presence? The style and form of the questions indicates that the magistrates thought the women guilty.     The matter might have ended with admonishments were it not for Tituba. After first adamantly denying any guilt, afraid perhaps of being made a scapegoat, Tituba claimed that she was approached by a tall man from Boston--obviously Satan--who sometimes appeared as a dog or a hog and who asked her to sign in his book and to do his work. Yes, Tituba declared, she was a witch, and moreover she and four other witches, including Good and Osborn, had flown through the air on their poles. She had tried to run to Reverend Parris for counsel, she said, but the devil had blocked her path. Tituba's confession succeeded in transforming her from a possible scapegoat to a central figure in the expanding prosecutions.  Her confession also served to silence most skeptics, and Parris and other local ministers began witch hunting with zeal.     Soon, according to their own reports, the spectral forms of other women began attacking the afflicted girls. Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Cloyce, and Mary Easty (LINK TO EASTY'S EXAMINATION) (LINK TO EASTY'S PETITION FOR MERCY) were accused of witchcraft. During a March 20 church service, Ann Putnam suddenly shouted, "Look where Goodwife Cloyce sits on the beam suckling her yellow bird between her fingers!" Soon Ann's mother, Ann Putnam, Sr., would join the accusers. Dorcas Good, four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good, became the first child to be accused of witchcraft when three of the girls complained that they were bitten by the specter of Dorcas. (The four-year-old was arrested, kept in jail for eight months, watched her mother get carried off to the gallows, and would "cry her heart out, and go insane.") The girls accusations and their ever more polished performances, including the new act of being struck dumb, played to large and believing audiences.     Stuck in jail with the damning testimony of the afflicted girls widely accepted, suspects began to see confession as a way to avoid the gallows. Deliverance Hobbs became the second witch to confess, admitting to pinching three of the girls at the Devil's command and flying on a pole to attend a witches' Sabbath in an open field.  Jails approached capacity and the colony "teetered on the brink of chaos" when Governor Phips returned from England. Fast action, he decided, was required.     Phips created a new court, the "court of oyer and terminer," to hear the witchcraft cases. Five judges, including three close friends of Cotton Mather, were appointed to the court. Chief Justice, and most influential member of the court, was a gung-ho witch hunter named William Stoughton. Mather urged Stoughton and the other judges to credit confessions and admit "spectral evidence" (testimony by afflicted persons that they had been visited by a suspect's specter). Ministers were looked to for guidance by the judges, who were generally without legal training, on matters pertaining to witchcraft. Mather's advice was heeded. the judges also decided to allow the so-called "touching test" (defendants were asked to touch afflicted persons to see if their touch, as was generally assumed of the touch of witches, would stop their contortions) and examination of the bodies of accused for evidence of "witches' marks" (moles or the like upon which a witch's familiar might suck) (SCENE DEPICTING EXAMINATION FOR MARKS). Evidence that would be excluded from modern courtrooms-- hearsay, gossip, stories, unsupported assertions, surmises-- was also generally admitted. Many protections that modern defendants take for granted were lacking in Salem: accused witches had no legal counsel, could not have witnesses testify under oath on their behalf, and had no formal avenues of appeal. Defendants could, however, speak for themselves, produce evidence, and cross-examine their accusers. The degree to which defendants in Salem were able to take advantage of their modest protections varied considerably, depending on their own acuteness and their influence in the community.     The first accused witch to be brought to trial was Bridget Bishop.http://tinyurl.com/6hng5
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Comment #9 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 15:25:55 PT

Imagine being born with Black Skin
From the 1880s into the 1960s, a majority of American states enforced segregation through "Jim Crow" laws (so called after a black character in minstrel shows). From Delaware to California, and from North Dakota to Texas, many states (and cities, too) could impose legal punishments on people for consorting with members of another race. The most common types of laws forbade intermarriage and ordered business owners and public institutions to keep their black and white clientele separated.Here is a sampling of laws from various states.
Nurses No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed. AlabamaBuses All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races. AlabamaRailroads The conductor of each passenger train is authorized and required to assign each passenger to the car or the division of the car, when it is divided by a partition, designated for the race to which such passenger belongs. AlabamaRestaurants It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city, at which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored persons are effectually separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each compartment. AlabamaPool and Billiard Rooms It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other at any game of pool or billiards. AlabamaToilet Facilities, Male Every employer of white or negro males shall provide for such white or negro males reasonably accessible and separate toilet facilities. AlabamaIntermarriage The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall be null and void. ArizonaIntermarriage All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. FloridaCohabitation Any negro man and white woman, or any white man and negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars. FloridaEducation The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately. FloridaJuvenile Delinquents There shall be separate buildings, not nearer than one fourth mile to each other, one for white boys and one for negro boys. White boys and negro boys shall not, in any manner, be associated together or worked together. FloridaMental Hospitals The Board of Control shall see that proper and distinct apartments are arranged for said patients, so that in no case shall Negroes and white persons be together. GeorgiaIntermarriage It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in violation of this section shall be void. GeorgiaBarbers No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. GeorgiaBurial The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons. GeorgiaRestaurants All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license. GeorgiaAmateur Baseball It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race. GeorgiaParks It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the benefit, use and enjoyment of white persons...and unlawful for any white person to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons. GeorgiaWine and Beer All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine...shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room at any time. GeorgiaReform Schools The children of white and colored races committed to the houses of reform shall be kept entirely separate from each other. KentuckyCircus Tickets All circuses, shows, and tent exhibitions, to which the attendance of...more than one race is invited or expected to attend shall provide for the convenience of its patrons not less than two ticket offices with individual ticket sellers, and not less than two entrances to the said performance, with individual ticket takers and receivers, and in the case of outside or tent performances, the said ticket offices shall not be less than twenty-five (25) feet apart. LouisianaHousing Any person...who shall rent any part of any such building to a negro person or a negro family when such building is already in whole or in part in occupancy by a white person or white family, or vice versa when the building is in occupancy by a negro person or negro family, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars or be imprisoned not less than 10, or more than 60 days, or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. LouisianaThe Blind The board of trustees shall...maintain a separate building...on separate ground for the admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of the colored or black race. LouisianaIntermarriage All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race; or between the negro a nd a member of the Malay race; or between a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race, are forever prohibited, and shall be void. MarylandRailroads All railroad companies and corporations, and all persons running or operating cars or coaches by steam on any railroad line or track in the State of Maryland, for the transportation of passengers, are hereby required to provide separate cars or coaches for the travel and transportation of the white and colored passengers. MarylandEducation Separate schools shall be maintained for the children of the white and colored races. MississippiPromotion of Equality Any person...who shall be guilty of printing, publishing or circulating printed, typewritten or written matter urging or presenting for public acceptance or general information, arguments or suggestions in favor of social equality or of intermarriage between whites and negroes, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fine or not exceeding five hundred (500.00) dollars or imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or both. MississippiIntermarriage The marriage of a white person with a negro or mulatto or person who shall have one-eighth or more of negro blood, shall be unlawful and void. MississippiHospital Entrances There shall be maintained by the governing authorities of every hospital maintained by the state for treatment of white and colored patients separate entrances for white and colored patients and visitors, and such entrances shall be used by the race only for which they are prepared. MississippiPrisons The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and sleeping from the negro convicts. MississippiEducation Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school. MissouriIntermarriage All marriages between...white persons and negroes or white persons and Mongolians...are prohibited and declared absolutely void...No person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood shall be permitted to marry any white person, nor shall any white person be permitted to marry any negro or person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood. MissouriEducation Separate rooms [shall] be provided for the teaching of pupils of African descent, and [when] said rooms are so provided, such pupils may not be admitted to the school rooms occupied and used by pupils of Caucasian or other descent. New MexicoTextbooks Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them. North CarolinaLibraries The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals. North CarolinaMilitia The white and colored militia shall be separately enrolled, and shall never be compelled to serve in the same organization.No organization of colored troops shall be permitted where white troops are available, and while white permitted to be organized, colored troops shall be under the command of white officers. North CarolinaTransportation The...Utilities Commission...is empowered and directed to require the establishment of separate waiting rooms at all stations for the white and colored races. North CarolinaTeaching Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. OklahomaFishing, Boating, and Bathing The [Conservation] Commission shall have the right to make segregation of the white and colored races as to the exercise of rights of fishing, boating and bathing. OklahomaMining The baths and lockers for the negroes shall be separate from the white race, but may be in the same building. OklahomaTelephone Booths The Corporation Commission is hereby vested with power and authority to require telephone companies...to maintain separate booths for white and colored patrons when there is a demand for such separate booths. That the Corporation Commission shall determine the necessity for said separate booths only upon complaint of the people in the town and vicinity to be served after due hearing as now provided by law in other complaints filed with the Corporation Commission. OklahomaLunch Counters No persons, firms, or corporations, who or which furnish meals to passengers at station restaurants or station eating houses, in times limited by common carriers of said passengers, shall furnish said meals to white and colored passengers in the same room, or at the same table, or at the same counter. South CarolinaChild Custody It shall be unlawful for any parent, relative, or other white person in this State, having the control or custody of any white child, by right of guardianship, natural or acquired, or otherwise, to dispose of, give or surrender such white child permanently into the custody, control, maintenance, or support, of a negro. South CarolinaLibraries Any white person of such county may use the county free library under the rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioners court and may be entitled to all the privileges thereof. Said court shall make proper provision for the negroes of said county to be served through a separate branch or branches of the county free library, which shall be administered by [a] custodian of the negro race under the supervision of the county librarian. TexasEducation [The County Board of Education] shall provide schools of two kinds; those for white children and those for colored children. TexasTheaters Every person...operating...any public hall, theatre, opera house, motion picture show or any place of public entertainment or public assemblage which is attended by both white and colored persons, shall separate the white race and the colored race and shall set apart and designate...certain seats therein to be occupied by white persons and a portion thereof , or certain seats therein, to be occupied by colored persons. VirginiaRailroads The conductors or managers on all such railroads shall have power, and are hereby required, to assign to each white or colored passenger his or her respective car, coach or compartment. If the passenger fails to disclose his race, the conductor and managers, acting in good faith, shall be the sole judges of his race. VirginiaIntermarriage All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. Wyoming 
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Comment #8 posted by global_warming on June 16, 2006 at 15:18:07 PT

Have you been communing with evil spirits?
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htmAccording to the UN's estimate, 141 million people around the world use marijuana. This represents about 2.5 percent of the world population.In 2004, 44.2 percent of the 1,745,712 total arrests in the US for drug abuse violations were for marijuana -- a total of 771,605. Of those, 684,319 people were arrested for possession alone. By contrast in 2000, a total of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 were for possession alone.
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Comment #7 posted by SystemGoneDown on June 16, 2006 at 15:08:45 PT

FoXxXxX News Alert!!!!!!
Did you guys hear the new story that Fox News released? They basically said that the methamphetamines epidemic in America is lower than depicted? I don't have the link but if you go to www.foxnews.com, you might find it. I think this is total propoganda, anybody else? From personal opinion and experience I can say that "tweakers" are an epidemic in America and FoxNews is just trying to play it down. I've had friends and relatives become speed users while although I personally have been curious, I stuck to weed. I find that the people at this site are pretty frigggen smart when it comes to this drug policy stuff so I'd ask ya'll.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 16, 2006 at 13:24:12 PT

OverwhelmSam 
Yes it is good news. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21909.shtml#1
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 16, 2006 at 13:15:37 PT

Did Anyone See This News? This Is Huge!
ISRAELI RESEARCHER LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE WITH CANNABIS COMPONENT 
by Judy Siegel, (Source:Jerusalem Post)
14 Jun 2006Israel
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A new method for lowering blood pressure with a compound that synthesizes a cannabis ( hashish or marijuana ) plant component has been developed by a Hebrew University doctoral student in pharmacology. For his work on the cardiovascular activity of cannabinoids ( chemical compounds derived from cannabis ), Yehoshua Maor has been named one of the winners of this year's Kaye Innovation Awards, to be presented on Tuesday during the university's 69th annual board of governors meetings. 

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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on June 16, 2006 at 09:49:31 PT

waxing nostalgic
http://fornits.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=7284&forum=7&2a web forum about Straight, Inc.Calvina Faye and the ilk that sets up drug free workshops for fun and profit.You wonder why they're not in jail.
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Comment #3 posted by Universer on June 16, 2006 at 09:41:23 PT:

Debunk
I'm really tired of the "sends the wrong message" argument. It is futile and trite. Here's what truly sends the wrong message: The law treats alcohol as being more benign than cannabis. Now that is a "wrong message."
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 16, 2006 at 08:10:42 PT

goneposthole 
You always know how to make me laugh.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on June 16, 2006 at 07:51:56 PT

all broke out in laughter
they're all cannabis users. they're schmart enough not to admit it at a public gathering.Who needs to be educated? Those who need to learn that cannabis is not a harmful substance, but does indeed have merit for its efficacious benefits.If they would try some, they'd find out how useful and positive it really is.They'd get edumacated. The sounds of silence, that's what I like to hear these days.
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