cannabisnews.com: Bush Says Drug Policy Working










  Bush Says Drug Policy Working

Posted by CN Staff on December 11, 2007 at 12:38:39 PT
By Debbi Wilgoren, Washington Post Staff Writer  
Source: Washington Post  

Washington, DC -- President Bush today hailed a decade-long decline in teen drug use as proof that his administration's drug interdiction efforts are working, citing an annual study that shows no dramatic drops from last year but confirmed a significant reduction since 1997 in the number of young people experimenting with illegal drugs. Teens in the 2007 "Monitoring the Future" study reported that their use of most drugs either became less frequent or held steady during the previous 12 months. But researchers noted a gradual increase during the past few years in the number of teenagers using the drug known as ecstasy, following a period of sharp decline.
They said the percentage of students who see "great risk" in using ecstasy has gone down in the past few years and theorized that students may be more willing to experiment with ecstasy because of a "generational forgetting" of the hazards widely associated with the drug when its usage peaked in the late 1990s. The 33rd national survey showed the percentage of eighth-graders who had used any illegal drug at least once in the past year fell from 24 percent to 13 percent between 1997 and 2007. The percentage of 10th-graders in the same category fell from 39 percent in 1997 to 28 percent this year; and the percent of 12th-graders using an illicit drug in the past 12 months dropped from 42 percent in 1997 to 36 percent this year. Declines for the past year were mostly modest or statistically insignificant, according to the study, which is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and designed and conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. Use of marijuana, which remains the most widely used illicit drug, fell slightly -- with 10.3 percent of eighth-graders saying they had used it in the past year, compared to 11.7 percent in 2006. Rates of illicit use of amphetamines, Ritalin and methamphetamines also fell modestly. The rates of use of cocaine, crack cocaine, LSD and other hallucinogens, heroin and most prescription-type psychoactive drugs held steady during the past year among teens surveyed, but thanks to sharp declines earlier this decade remain much lower, for the most part, than they were a decade ago. Illegal use of certain prescription narcotics, such as Vicodin and OxyContin, showed no systemic change over the past year, the study said. More than one in 20 high school seniors reported trying OxyContin in 2007, and nearly one in 10 high school seniors said they had tried Vicodin. Bush, speaking to an audience of drug-policy experts, enforcement officials, treatment workers and recovering addicts, said the declines documented by the study proved the success of his efforts to curb teen drug use during the past six years. While the numbers had begun to decline significantly when Bush pledged in 2002 to cut drug use among young people by 25 percent, they continued to fall for the next several years. The study released this morning showed a 24 percent drop since 2001 in the number of teens acknowledging drug use within a month of the survey being taken, the White House said. It showed a 25 percent drop in marijuana use over the same period, and a drop of more than 50 percent in the rate of ecstasy use among teens. Bush said he wanted to "celebrate progress" while acknowledging that there is still work to be done on curbing teen drug use. "Thousands of children still live in homes torn apart by drugs. Thousands more are still considering whether to try drugs for the first time," Bush said. "It's up to all Americans to be involved in this important struggle against drug addiction. It's up to all of us to urge our fellow citizens to make the right choice -- and to help those who make the wrong choice understand the consequences and that there is a more hopeful future." Note: President Cites Study With Modest Declines Over Last Few Years.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author:   Debbi Wilgoren, Washington Post Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007Copyright: 2007 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ CannabisNews ONDCP Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/ONDCP.shtml

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Comment #53 posted by b4daylight on December 19, 2007 at 13:02:31 PT
What is an illegal drug?
For Teen agers it is ciggs and beer. I wonder why they separate things?
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Comment #52 posted by Dankhank on December 14, 2007 at 11:51:43 PT
rchandar
some good points, but I fail to see how lowering the drinking age would lower drug use.at this point in time a kid has fairly good access to either and then chooses which, or both, depending on personal situation, or no thought at all. Get pee'd at school? Is alcohol the answer? Maybe, but keep in mind that at that age ALL drug use is llegal. How could anyone in good conscience suggest that increasing alcohol use for any reason is a good thing?especially for kids ...kids really shouldn't be doing any drugs other than what is needed to keep them healthy. I know that opens a hell of a basket of worms regarding the safety of pharms, but we know what we need, just not very good at producing results worth bragging about.kids do have a lot of worries ... and if they believed that adults wanted safety, above all else, they wouldn't NEED drugs.Kids are a market, and even if all adult drug use is decriminalized they will still be a market.But think how much easier it would be for everyone if the law only worried about sales to kids. Eliminate the drug war and many ills of our time will fade away ...
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Comment #51 posted by rchandar on December 14, 2007 at 09:59:05 PT:
Truth???
Lessee. If you were an eighth grader, would you fess up? How "proud" of your pot smoking are you, really? Isn't it likely that a lot of kids who use drugs, including tea, are seeking some guidance or happiness outside of divorced families, child abuse scenarios, even pregnancies?So, to tell the truth, who could call these "studies" honest? What's to say that someone doesn't have your name written down somewhere, to give it away to the first person they meet at a bar? WHY should kids admit to adults that they use, seeing as how they could be compromised at such an early age? That being said. The anti-drug thing has somewhat seeped into hip-hop, the main pop culture engine at the moment, but the numbers heavily favor hemp. Without a doubt, this hasn't gone away and if it has, is that even good? So now my kid goes to a middle-school with metal detectors and a dozen cops, some of them drug agents, posing as buyers and sellers to lock up kids? So this is "good" news?There are many solutions that I believe the Bush Administration is just not willing to consider. To start off, if they lowered the drinking age, that would bring down drug use, yes. If we legalized cannabis, kids would be less likely to use it because they would see it as an "adult" drug, not a juvenile one. That simple measure would clean up all the delinquency cases, truancy, etc etc."Me and Julio" was written thirty-six years ago. If a kid can see grass as something that doesn't confine him/her to childhood, a lot of problems would be, potentially, fixed.rchandar
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Comment #50 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 17:20:14 PT
Dankhank
I believe that what we say and how we say it can have far reaching effects.
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Comment #49 posted by dankhank on December 12, 2007 at 17:08:26 PT
what happened ...
http://www.druglibrary.org/special/anderson/highinamerica17.htmmake what you will about this ...it's all a confusing mess, to me ...I think some very small-minded people killed sanity in this nation ...
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Comment #48 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 16:58:05 PT
Yanxor
Cocaine happened. Carter turned away then.
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Comment #47 posted by Yanxor on December 12, 2007 at 16:44:30 PT
FoM
...and then what happened?
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 15:43:59 PT
Yanxor 
That's so true. We actually were headed in the right direction back then for a while.
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Comment #45 posted by Yanxor on December 12, 2007 at 15:19:13 PT
FoM
Not sure if I posted this before - but this is defenitely worth posting againA quote by: Dr. James L. Goddard - Former Director of FDA (1969)"If the known harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco are greater than those of marijuana, and those substances are legal, why do I not advocate legalizing marijuana? I believe that if alcohol and tobacco were not already legal, we might very well decide not to legalize them --knowing what we now know. In the case of marijuana, we will know in a very few years how harmful it is or is not. If it turns out to be relatively harmless, we will be embarrassed by harsh laws that made innocent people suffer. If it turns out to be quite harmful--a distinct possibility--we will have introduced yet another public-health hazard that for social and economic reasons might become impossible to dislodge."=[ The studies came out, they showed that marijuana is relatively harmless - and yet our politicians are still saying that its the greatest evil in the world, while saying that we need to do more studies.
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 13:18:35 PT
One More Thing
There was no drug testing and the purpose was to build a person's self esteem not scare and threaten them.
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 13:05:35 PT
Yanxor 
We went to Kent State University in the 70s for a drug seminar. They thought marijuana was going to be legal and it wasn't even in the discussion. We were taught that self help groups would help a person make better choices because if a person got caught with a hard drug it was more then likely because they did something that brought attention to themselves while under the influence.
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Comment #42 posted by Yanxor on December 12, 2007 at 12:49:37 PT
FoM
By all means, you're right - drug addiction is not a criminal issue, but a medical one.And people cought with any hard drug should be directed to treatment, not a jail.Soft drugs however, should be legal and strictly regulated.
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 12:44:32 PT
Yanxor
I guess I understood what was said in the article because I took into consideration that they were in recovery. The world becomes different for people in that situation.
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 12:41:44 PT
Yanxor 
I believe that cannabis should be legalized and controlled. I don't believe that people who use hard drugs should go to jail if they get caught. If a person, where I was from, got caught with say Meth that person didn't go to jail but might have been directed to what we had and they were called self help groups.
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Comment #39 posted by Yanxor on December 12, 2007 at 12:25:55 PT
FoM
Well, the people in the article make some arguments that are a bit out there.First of all, in no way do I think that legalizing hard drugs like heroin and methamphetamine is a good idea.Second of all: Under legalization, "even people that don't use [are] going to find a way to get it, and they're going to sell it" - possibly to kids, said Ronnie. "Somebody's going to find a way to make a profit off the government."Well, if hard drugs are legalized and distributed similarly to alcohol (the women state their concerns over how frequently free heroin will be given out - that won't be the case, they won't get free heroin, they'll buy it from a government heroin retailer) - the drug dealers, even if they try to resell the heroin to other patients won't have much success, after all - you don't see street-corner dealers buying vodka in stock only to sell it at an inflated price on the streets. Why? Because the people who are interested in purchasing vodka can go directly to the store.Furthermore, its important to note that right now kids have much greater access to drugs then they would under a system that had them legalized - that's mostly because a federal heroin/meth (what have you) retailer is going to card you - but a drug dealer doesn't care whether you're 12 or 21.Next point: "There's too much money in this stuff for it to become legal. They don't want to give up their cut."Ha...yes, the drug dealers will lobby the federal government into not legalizing drugs. While its true that any illegal drug's value will plumet if it is legalized - there really isn't much that dealers can do to prevent federal distribution of it."So I'm going to go and get this free drug that the government is going to put out there."I assume because methadone is currently freely distributed at clinics these former addicts are somehow expecting the government to provide them with free drugs when they are legalized. That's like expecting the government to provide you with free pot when its legalized."And if heroin and coke are legalized, what about Ecstasy? What about crystal meth?"...how concerned can you be about ecstacy when heroin and coke are legal? "Ecstacy" kills about...1-2 people a year? And a lot of that is because it's not really ecstacy."Legalization certainly wouldn't reduce the population of addicts. Quite the opposite. Shari has two teenage boys. The misery they have witnessed caused by heroin and cocaine - including the recent overdose death of her stepfather - will keep them off drugs, she believes."The individual doesn't clearly say how legalization will do the opposite. And I'm not sure how she wants to turn the overdose of a loved one into national policy for keeping kids off drugs."Or unprotected sex. That's not going to stop that."Wtf? Why are they expecting drug legalization to stop unprotected sex?"If by legalizing addictive drugs we fuel the forces of irrationality, would that be less irrational than what we're doing now?"Wow, there is no way that legalizing heroin is the answer. The answer is what a lot of us on CNews want.Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance. For a lot of dealers, cannabis is the backbone of their "economic enterprise." If cannabis was to be legalized, less drug dealers would be able to remain in buisness, people who are looking for cannabis, will not be put into contact with heroin/cocaine or what have you. I'm not saying that cannabis legalization will stop usage of hard drugs, but it should defenitely cause a decrease.
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Comment #38 posted by Taylor121 on December 12, 2007 at 12:20:17 PT
They're already sold to kids
so I don't see the point. Sounds like prohibitionist talk. "If we legalize marijuana, they'll just sell it to kids!"Me: Yeah, they already sell it to kids.Prohibitionist: "..."
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 12:11:05 PT
Taylor121
One time in an MSNBC News chat years ago I asked a DEA agent that was a guest for the chat what he would do for a job when drugs were legalized? I was surprised he answered me but he did. He said he will never be out of a job because if drugs were legalized someone would start selling them to kids.
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Comment #36 posted by Taylor121 on December 12, 2007 at 12:06:21 PT
It's like
It would be similar to listening to a father whose son smokes a lot of pot talk about how marijuana legalization would make things worse. 
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Comment #35 posted by Taylor121 on December 12, 2007 at 12:05:42 PT
I believe they are telling the truth
I believe that they believe what they are saying is true, but I do not think they are correct. The article is written to say that hard drug users would continue to steal, go out of their way to buy dirty drugs, etc. if there is a legal, regulated environment. Some dealing may continue similar to how some alcohol is peddled to kids, but that isn't a black market, it's a gray market, and the original supply is still cleaner and taxed. Drugs are a part of gangs, robbery, and prostitution the same way marijuana is a part of gangs, robbery, and prostitution. Groups that are involved in those activities are often involved in illicit drug sales. They say legalization won't reduce the amount of addicts, but did they stop and think about all the money that could allocated to treatment? Did you notice this section?"Completely legalizing hard drugs has been much discussed but never done, although Switzerland and a few other countries allow legal, "medicalized" injection of heroin for the worst addicts. The policy has been linked to reduced crime."Partial legalization reduced crime. Why would I believe in people that have no understanding of what drives the drug trade?
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 11:54:20 PT
Taylor121
Why don't you believe the people who spoke in the article?
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Comment #33 posted by Taylor121 on December 12, 2007 at 11:52:16 PT
Hard drugs
I hope no one actually believes that article FoM just posted. Alcohol is a hard drug, but I don't see pushers for it in alleys everywhere after we ended prohibition. 
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Comment #32 posted by Truth on December 12, 2007 at 09:46:03 PT
 Sukoi 
Congratulations.You'll live longer.
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on December 12, 2007 at 06:49:15 PT
Interesting Article About Hard Drugs
Making Drugs Legal Not a Fix, Say Ex-usersBy Jay Hancock December 12, 2007 
 Legalize drugs? That's what I advocated in this space a month ago. By allowing licensed clinics to sell or dispense hard drugs, we could take business away from violent dealers and let rationality and regulated economics rule the streets instead of robbery and murder.Not so fast, say people who really know about heroin supply and demand. The hard-drug trade, say former patrons, doesn't have much to do with rationality."I don't think that's going to stop the dealers from dealing," says Felicia, 47, a recovering addict who notes that even legalized methadone is bought and sold on the streets. "It may slow it down some. But there's always going to be someone out there that's going to sell to me. Always."URL: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock12dec12,0,7610223.column
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Comment #30 posted by potpal on December 12, 2007 at 05:41:21 PT
bush is a tool
Who can believe anything this administration has to say?Bush, speaking to an audience of drug-policy experts, enforcement officials, treatment workers and recovering addicts, said the declines documented by the study proved the success of his efforts to curb teen drug use during the past six years. Tell it to the crowds in our burgeoning prisons, re-education, ah I mean, treatment centers, and the gang at the AA meeting down the street or the bar at the corner. He's just preaching to the choir assuring them that their jobs are not in jeopardy...yet.
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Comment #29 posted by RevRayGreen on December 11, 2007 at 20:44:49 PT
Among Bush Pardons handed out today...
--Jackie Ray Clayborn, of Deer, Arkansas, sentenced in 1993 to five months in prison, two years of supervised release and $3,000 in fines on marijuana charges.--John Fornaby, of Boynton Beach, Florida, convicted in 1991 of conspiring to distribute cocaine. He served three years in prison."Additionally, Bush cut short the 1992 prison sentence of crack cocaine dealer Michael Dwayne Short of Hyattsville, Maryland, who will be released on February 8 after serving 15 years of his 19-year sentence. Short's commutation comes the day the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to allow some 19,500 federal prison inmates, most of them black, to seek reductions in their crack cocaine sentences."
No pardon for Scooter
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 20:14:37 PT
fight_4_freedom 
I know you are right. I have a relative that is battling addiction to Vicodin now. I was addicted to Tylenol 4 for a number of years and the withdrawal was the worst pain I ever had in my life. 
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Comment #27 posted by fight_4_freedom on December 11, 2007 at 19:59:45 PT:
Nearly everybody I know
is on some kind of pill I swear. I know so many people hooked on vicoden its ridiculous. And I mean hooked. At my last place of employment, there was only a few people that didn't use them. They are truly addictive too. When I broke my hand recently they prescribed them to me and I took them for about two weeks straight. When I ran out I was honestly going nuts with the cravings, and that's only using them for 2 weeks.Good thing my lady Mary was there to show me the way :)
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Comment #26 posted by Sam Adams on December 11, 2007 at 19:47:57 PT
headline is true
When you think about it, the war on drugs IS accomplishing nearly all its goals. Of course, the real goal of the WOD has nothing to do with reducing the harm from drugs.Look at the discussion in this thread - we all know what's happening - in recent years, prescription drug abuse has taken off like a rocket. Everyone is popping pills. Pill have become more popular than heroin, ecstacy, cannabis, LSD. I've heard that opiate pills are all the rage even with policemen and firemen.Who makes the pills? Who profits from every single prescription drug that rolls off the assembly line, regardless of who takes it?They weren't satisfied with driving the peaceful hippies out of drug commerce in the 70's. They weren't satisfied with prisons full of minorities and all the taxes and kickbacks that go with the prison industrial complex.No, they won't be happy until Big Pharm's corporations totally dominate the illicit drug markets too. 6 million kids on Prozac legally isn't enough, they want the rest of the kids to be on their pills too. Look at what the DEA is doing in California. It's not an assault on sick people, or dispensaries. It's an assault on reality itself. There's no such thing as medical marijuana! No such thing as medical marijuana! It's a conquest of the conscious mind. They won't rest until have all your money AND control of your thoughts.
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Comment #25 posted by ekim on December 11, 2007 at 19:46:12 PT
lou interview with jonny
what did lou say at the end of interview say last 10 seconds or so
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Comment #24 posted by OverwhelmSam on December 11, 2007 at 19:33:44 PT
Great News!
Now that teen marijuana use is down, there is no reason for the government to keep it illegal for adults. 
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 19:14:01 PT
John Tyler
I only understand absolute issues. I don't like spin. My mind seems to turn off clutter. I guess it's a blessing really. 
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Comment #22 posted by John Tyler on December 11, 2007 at 18:59:42 PT
consider the source
I’m always concerned about the federal gov. monkeying around with the numbers especially with such a hot issue like the Drug War. First off why would anyone agree to take such a survey in the first place? This whole thing ties in nicely with what Bush said several years ago, that he would reduce drug usage by 25% in so and so many years. So now this survey shows some areas of decline and he is taking credit for it. That is, if you believe these numbers. I think the numbers were inflated in the beginning so that later “improvement “ could be shown with another set of deflated numbers. It’s a cheap political trick, but most people fall for it. Remember the Bushies have a reputation for letting their ideology over ride science. (Science is a technique for arriving at the truth.) Consider the source.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 18:25:21 PT
runruff
I really must suggest that you give up on eating red frogs. They give me indigestion! LOL!
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Comment #20 posted by runruff on December 11, 2007 at 18:08:46 PT:
Teen drug use?
Yeh, That herb really can break up a happy home. Can attract goons with guns. Can help achieve extended vacations away from home and family. In states where Med-pot is legal teen use of cannabis has dropped. I just knew these creatins would try to take credit for this somehow! I started using pot as a teen [17] and look at me. Stupid, illiterate, living in a hobit hole under a tree eating red frogs. Boy that herb sure messes you up! I have lived in a so called [pot] community for the past 30-35 years. Seen a lot of young kids use pot. Grown now. Normal. Some so strait it would make an old hippie cry. I can't think of one kid out of dozens that didn't grow up normal.Hey Sukoi! It's great to see you. Yes, I'm home! Thanks to my Dear Wife everything is the same and normal [for us].
She is a blessing to me and so is my home. Thanx for your good wishes and I hope you are having a very warm and loving holiday. Don't take anything for granted. Life is so fragile.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 17:41:21 PT

Sukoi
What I have noticed is more kids are getting strung out on prescription drugs around here. I didn't know it had gotten that bad but I guess it has.
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Comment #18 posted by Dankhank on December 11, 2007 at 17:25:31 PT

johnnee pee
Hey, the jig is up if johnnee is talking about pot ...Use of other more "dangerous" drugs is UP ...How does he spin THAT data ...?
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Comment #17 posted by Sukoi on December 11, 2007 at 17:14:54 PT

Thanks FoM
And I'll certainly keep that in mind. As far as Johnny Pee's appearance on the Lou Dobbs show goes, he just spouted the same old crap about teens using "drugs" at a lesser rate than before, blah, blah, blah..... broken record. Dobbs didn't challenge him on any of his bull$h!t. Dobbs needs to have someone from LEAP on one of these days to set people straight and I certainly think that that will happen fairly soon.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 17:07:30 PT

Sukoi
You're welcome. Think of nice and wonderful things and you'll make it.
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Comment #15 posted by Sukoi on December 11, 2007 at 17:01:48 PT

FoM
Thanks for the advice I appreciate it and yes the stress thing is indeed a factor but I've been able to keep that in check.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 16:57:49 PT

Sukoi 
The good thing is that the desire to smoke that happens leaves fairly fast the longer you don't smoke. Keeping your stress level in check helps a lot too and I'm sure you know that by now.
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Comment #13 posted by Sukoi on December 11, 2007 at 16:49:03 PT

FoM
Thanks and I'll certainly try to not start again but there are times when I am oh so tempted... So far, I've been able to refrain and hopefully that will be a continuing trend.
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Comment #12 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on December 11, 2007 at 16:21:07 PT

These surveys depend on kids being honest....
With the increased zero tolerance of even drug speech and random drug testing looming over student athletes, musicians, thespians, journalists, etc. as well as those who want to drive, be employed, graduate, and/or go to college, why would any teen be honest about their drug use even on a supposedly anonymous survey?Maybe these statistics only prove that young people feel less comfortable being honest with the government than they did 10 years ago.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 16:19:34 PT

Sukoi
Tobacco is a stimulant and that probably is why you aren't as active. I quit for over 10 years. It took me a number of years to lose the weight I gained when I quit but I finally did it. Never start back up again. I doubt I could quit now.
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Comment #10 posted by Yanxor on December 11, 2007 at 16:17:52 PT

"Urge" or fellow citizens
"It's up to all of us to urge our fellow citizens to make the right choice -- and to help those who make the wrong choice understand the consequences and that there is a more hopeful future."I doubt that "urge" is the best word for unconstitutional paramilitary operations...perhaps "violently force."The consequences of the "wrong" choice for cannabis users unfortunately happens to be "urging" on the part of "all americans" (DEA) - and I do with the president when he says there is a more hopeful future for cannabis users (when Bush is out of office.)"It's up to all Americans to be involved in this important struggle against drug addiction."If we are trully trying to eliminate drug addiction it is necessary to deal with the problem of drug use as a medical, rather than a criminal issue. Also basing your policy and terminology on science(DSM IV), rather than puritanical bs might be another good idea.
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Comment #9 posted by tintala on December 11, 2007 at 16:15:08 PT:

20 days left for MPP.org to get the funds it needs
I just came back from the docIt’s very important that we reach the goal, because a major philanthropist has agreed to match the first $3,000,000 that MPP raises in 2007. If we don’t raise at least $3,000,000, we’ll be leaving money on the table, which means we won’t be able to fully pursue our important work in early 2008.Would you please help us meet our goal and get the matching funds by donating right now?This is a huge opportunity for MPP and all of us who are working to end marijuana prohibition. If we succeed at securing the remainder of $3.0 million + $3.0 million = $6.0 million in revenues in the next 20 days, we’ll be able to complete an ambitious slate of projects going into next year.Would you please help make this financial windfall a reality by making your own contribution today?You’ll notice in the upper right-hand corner that we are currently more than $800,000 short — with 20 days left to go — and so our goal might seem unrealistic.However, most high-level donors traditionally wait until the end of the year to make their tax-deductible donations to various nonprofit organizations. And this year, unfortunately, a much larger proportion of donors are waiting. Regardless of when they donate this month, we still need you to donate to bring us up to the $3,000,000 goal.Indeed, I personally wait until the end of year to make my own modest donations to my favorite nonprofit organizations, and I’m hoping that the same is true for you: Of the more than 100,000 people on this e-mail list, only 2,500 have donated any amount of money to MPP this year.If each one of the 97,500 people who hasn’t yet donated would give $10 right now, we would easily reach our goal — with 20 days to spare.I want to thank you in advance if you decide to make a financial donation today ...Sincerely,Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
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Comment #8 posted by Sukoi on December 11, 2007 at 16:13:26 PT

FoM
Thanks and I'm sorry that you missed it (it hasn't been shown on his show yet for me). Kind of a weird thing happened to me, I quit smoking cigarrettes last March and for some reason I've had much less drive to post here or anywhere else and I don't know why. Other than that, my life has changed little except for gaining some weight and feeling MUCH better. I still read though and I hope that all are doing well and I can't tell you how happy I am that Runruff is back with his family. 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 16:12:52 PT

Hey Kaptinemo
It's good to see you. 
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on December 11, 2007 at 16:06:51 PT:

Not them again
Monitoring the Future, huh? Perhaps they should take some time from trying to divine the future and look at the past, for that is the real indication of 'success'. The very fact that such surveys have to be conducted, decade after decade, and the problem is still here, is a measure of the 'success' of anti-drug efforts.I once knew a Sephardic Jew who lived in Morocco during WW2, and she told me once about how she never trusted any government pronouncements about anything, saying that she had heard the media at the time trumpeting (the Vichy French who were Nazi collaborators) line of winning the war...right up until the day of Germany's defeat. Every thinking person knew they were being lied to, and often mocked the lying newscasters with "Radio Paris ment! Radio Paris ment! Radio Paris est Allemagne!" ("Radio Paris lies! Radio Paris lies! Radio Paris is German!") The modern version of that would have been Baghdad Bob. Walters isn't any better of a mendicant, either; otherwise we would have 'won' by now...riiiiiight?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 16:06:31 PT

Storm Crow
Divide and conquer is what they want. Tearing families apart seems ok with them.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 11, 2007 at 15:58:45 PT

Sukoi 
It's good to see you. I haven't watched Lou Dobbs for a while and I've been watching World News Tonight so I missed it.
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Comment #3 posted by Sukoi on December 11, 2007 at 15:52:47 PT

Walters on CNN
John Walters will be on CNN to address this on the Lou Dobbs show at 6:00PM CST (10 minutes from now).
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Comment #2 posted by Storm Crow on December 11, 2007 at 15:43:39 PT

"Thousands of children"
"Thousands of children still live in homes torn apart by drugs" And just who is doing this tearing apart of families? DEA, CPS and your government in general! Time to legalize! Stop the "tearing apart" of families over a harmless herb!
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Comment #1 posted by mykeyb420 on December 11, 2007 at 12:51:03 PT

dope pushers
Boy, I can remember the day when we had to fear the corner drug dealers. Now all the kids have to do is go to their parents medicine cabinet to get high,,,or die trying.OT
 A 49er fan fell to his death at Monster Park, while smoking a cigarette,, I guess you can say that smoking killed him. If he was smoking a joint, then GW's office would have blamed it on pot, not gravity.
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