cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Rips Amendment 44 Drug Czar Rips Amendment 44 Posted by CN Staff on October 12, 2006 at 07:11:50 PT By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News Source: Rocky Mountain News Colorado -- The nation's drug czar slammed a thick ream of paper on the podium and declared it contained study after study showing marijuana leads to mental illness and other health problems. Emily Bettinger wasn't buying it. "For all I know, that was a bunch of doodling he did on the plane ride out here," she said. "He didn't even show us anything." The 17-year-old sighed. Behind her, a group of South High students complained John Walters, Office of National Drug Control Policy director, never seemed to be speaking directly to them during his 20-minute talk at the school. But he was. Walters, armed with a $15 million gift from the federal government to be doled out over five years, said Wednesday the money would be used to set up school-based health care systems to identify students battling drug abuse. Denver would get the first chunk of it - $2.8 million. Other money would be spread across the state. "We hope to change the course of addiction in this region," Walters said. "The emphasis is on early intervention." The emphasis was also on Amendment 44, the Nov. 7 ballot measure seeking to decriminalize pot possession of an ounce or less among those 21 and older. Mason Tvert, campaign manager for Amendment 44, knew Walters was arriving Wednesday and paid $4,900 to put up a billboard at West Harvard Avenue and Broadway featuring a picture of Walters saying marijuana use is the "safest thing in the world." Well, actually, not the drug czar's words, though they are part of an ad campaign being run out of his office called "Pete's Couch." The video shows a guy sitting on a couch who claims life will pass you by if you smoke weed and don't go out into the real world and take risks like ice skating or playing basketball. The phrase "safest thing in the world" is actually a perjorative reference to pot. Walters said the advertisement was designed to appeal to youth's sense of adventure. He said marijuana dulls that sense. He also said the dangers of marijuana are "a blind spot" in society. "Substance abuse doesn't make any state, any community, any family, any young person's life better," Walters said. "It makes it worse and puts them at risk and it shatters too many families. We're about putting them back together." The drug czar also ripped Amendment 44 for taking money from out-of-state billionaires conducting "a social experiment" on kids in Colorado. "They have enough money to play with other people's lives," Walters said. But Tvert urged people to look at the financial reports of his group filed with the Colorado Secretary of State, which show no contributions from billionaires George Soros or Peter Lewis, whose politics make them targets of conservatives. Tvert, in fact, said he has written to Soros asking for a sworn affidavit saying the campaign "hasn't taken one cent" from the billionaire. "We have a two-person staff for the entire state," Tvert said. "For them to say we're a national group, well they're coming out here and lying through their teeth." Walters spent the morning in Colorado Springs with the mayor, Lionel Rivera, and ripped the ballot measure there, too. Rivera called Amendment 44 a "terrible public health policy." Note: Walters at South to stress intervention, give state $15 million.Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)Author: David Montero, Rocky Mountain NewsPublished: October 12, 2006Copyright: 2006 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/ Drug Czar Visits To Bash Pot Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22269.shtmlColorado To Get Millions from White House Czarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22262.shtmlHippie-Hating and Baitinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22244.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #18 posted by afterburner on October 12, 2006 at 22:06:59 PT Har Har Har John Pee Walter has met his match in Mason Tvert. "a blind spot"???"Out damned spot, out I say" Shakespeare [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by mayan on October 12, 2006 at 17:30:51 PT Dankhank,Whig Thanks. Prisonplanet.com,infowars.com and 911blogger.com have all carried articles about it. I've only read a little about it but haven't watched it yet. I didn't know about the 911truth.org t-shirt. That's great! Hello, South Park Fans! http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20061012105247881Southpark Episode on 9/11 Conspiracy - Video: http://prisonplanet.com/articles/October2006/121006Southpark.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by global_warming on October 12, 2006 at 17:08:18 PT Yes in this Republic Yes in this WorldYes in Goodness and GraceTo the StarsTo The Mystery Yes, Yes 44Yes to the blood of the Cross [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by global_warming on October 12, 2006 at 17:02:08 PT I Will Bow And Be Simple I Will Bow And Be FreeYes 44 Forever and into the Belly of EternityYou can count my "YES" Vote in Colorado. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by global_warming on October 12, 2006 at 16:43:50 PT Well How Do You Do Private McBride? Did they play the pipes lowly? [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Sukoi on October 12, 2006 at 16:22:52 PT Kapinemo (comment #6) You may have already seen this before but...John the Revelatorhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaB1psXTjS4 [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by global_warming on October 12, 2006 at 15:57:36 PT re:Grandmother Hid Marijuana Police: Grandmother Hid Marijuana Stash In Secret Compartment, does this headline remind anyone of shades of the past, the headline could easily read "Grandmother Hid Black Slave in Secret Compartment", or "Grandmother Hid Jew in Secret Compartment", wake up.See your place in the world, be not offended by your reflection in the mirror, who told you were naked?YES44 [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on October 12, 2006 at 14:14:38 PT Did the roof cave in? "It makes it worse and puts them at risk and it shatters too many families. We're about putting them back together."That is the biggest lie I have heard from Johnny Pee in a day or two.If you are about putting families back together John, then release all the cannaprisoners immediately. I know a woman in Oregon named Mrs.runruff who would love to have her husband back. Multiply that by about ONE MILLION and I'll believe you are all about putting families back together. Now tell me again how locking someone up for cannabis possession is putting that family back together? Cannabis doesn't knock a family down. Cannabis doesn't jail it's users. Cannabis has been known, however, to improve a person's/family's life after alcohol abuse or other far more dangerous substances than cannabis has damaged it.I pray that Coloradans show this man and his intrusive jack boot thuggists the door.Wage Peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by whig on October 12, 2006 at 12:38:51 PT Dankhank and Mayan 9/11 is a criminal investigation. http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/10/12/this-is-another-criminal-investigation/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by whig on October 12, 2006 at 12:02:45 PT Question Why do people say that those like John Walters are "lying through their teeth?" Why not just say: "John Walters is lying." [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by global_warming on October 12, 2006 at 10:27:56 PT Old John "Substance abuse doesn't make any state, any community, any family, any young person's life better," Walters said. "Niether does having dope cops locking him up in any state, any community, any family, make any young person's life better, YES44. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by paul armentano on October 12, 2006 at 10:09:36 PT More Czar's lies exposed: Nobody in jail for pot [Excerpt from today's NORML press release]Nearly One In Eight US Drug Prisoners Are Behind Bars For PotTaxpayers Spending Over $1 Billion Annually To Incarcerate Pot OffendersOctober 12, 2006 -- Washington, DCNearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars for marijuana-related offenses, according to data released this week by the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The BJS study, “Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004,” reports that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate US Department of Justice (DOJ) statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners (BJS October 2005 Bulletin: “Prisoners in 2004” -- NCJ 210677) suggests that there are now approximately 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates incarcerated for marijuana offenses. NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said that the new BJS statistics belie the myth that few if any US prisoners are serving time for marijuana-related offenses. “According to these figures, nearly 45,000 state and federal prisoners are behind bars for having committed some type of cannabis-related offense,” he said. “This means that US taxpayers are currently spending over $1 billion annually to incarcerate Americans for pot.” http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7071 [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on October 12, 2006 at 10:03:41 PT: Saint John the Urinator (a.k.a Johnny Pee) speaks! And the crowd...arches their eyebrows, as they swear they've heard all this before, somewhere...and they didn't believe it then, either.Oh, and while he's being soooooo generous with other people's money (no offense, but what is someone from Washington State, or Arkansas, or Florida or Missouri or Connecticut getting out of this gift to Colorado?) how about answering why this money wasn't dispensed earlier, if the need to do so was so obvious? Something to do with the timing, perhaps?This is so transparent it's pathetic. Saint John the Urinator thinks that he can swoop into town and awe the locals, hand out wampum and do a little preaching and presto! the locals are converted to the One True DrugWar Faith. LOL! Gimme a break! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on October 12, 2006 at 09:22:20 PT Walter's goal His goal is to have a prison on every city block in America. He is for robbing, stealing, and caging people for making a personal decision in their lives.The government should work on caring for its people by reducing poverty and provide healthcare for ALL Americans. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by billos on October 12, 2006 at 08:41:40 PT I did not know crap could make so much noise "Substance abuse doesn't make any state, any community, any family, any young person's life better," Walters said. "It makes it worse and puts them at risk and it shatters too many families. We're about putting them back together." I really get a hoot at the last sentence.Walters didn't finish by saying "We're about putting families back together, unless of coursewe actually catch you smoking. Then we will workaround the clock to ruin your life. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on October 12, 2006 at 08:27:14 PT Did you see ... Mayan ...the South Park episode last night re: 9/11?a young man in that show wore a t-shirt with "911Truth.org" on it for much of the episode. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on October 12, 2006 at 07:47:31 PT gotta love the political culture I love the Feds strategy - here, take a bribe! We're always willing to do anything if we're paid off or kicked back. Colorado citizens are the same way, right? Isn't everyone for sale? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on October 12, 2006 at 07:31:09 PT DESPERATION Walters, armed with a $15 million gift from the federal government to be doled out over five years, said Wednesday the money would be used to set up school-based health care systems to identify students battling drug abuse.The "carrot on a stick" for those in the drug testing/treatment industries. 15 million bucks ought to mobilize them to fight against 44. And what timing! Can you say DESPERATION? "We have a two-person staff for the entire state," Tvert said. "For them to say we're a national group, well they're coming out here and lying through their teeth."I've lost count of all of the lies that Mason Tvert has exposed in just the last couple weeks! Walters will only create a backlash as anyone from the federal government has zero credibility. Johnny Pee could actually help see 44 to victory!Here's a relative piece... Drug Czar Speaks Out Against Pro-Pot Initiative: http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_284220848.htmlTHE WAY OUT...9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL: http://www.911sharethetruth.com/FALSE FLAG NEWS - Saving the world one drill at a time: http://falseflagnews.com/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment