cannabisnews.com: Inalienable Rights Under Attack 





Inalienable Rights Under Attack 
Posted by FoM on April 27, 2000 at 10:38:31 PT
Letters To The Editor
Source: Mountain Express News
The April 12 Mountain Xpress was poignant for me because, on that day, my friend Jean Marlowe was sentenced to 10 months in prison, after confessing to a federal judge that she considered marijuana (cannabis) to be a gift from God to use for her health (see Genesis). 
Jean has an inherited liver disorder called porphyria that manifests in pain, nausea and muscle spasms. Cannabis relieves these symptoms, as well as helps the efficiency of her liver, by what her doctor calls "micro-circulation" – the vascular-dilation effect of cannabis – helping to bring oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body. Her doctor, who testified in her defense, said that Jean is "like the canary in the coal mine" in regards to [the effects of] synthetic medicines (often toxins) on everyone's body. Have you noticed how the side effects in drug ads often list liver damage? These pills are slowly killing us. Of course, the pill-pushers are happy, because we have to buy more pills to counteract the side effects. Law-enforcement officers say that they are just doing their job until the laws are changed. This is not true. As Jean has pointed out, they take an oath to uphold and protect the rights of the citizens, above all else. This is what this country is supposed to be about – these unalienable rights supersede temporary laws. The U.S. government gives medical marijuana to eight patients (George Bush illegally closed the IND program in 1991, when thousands of AIDS patients applied), yet prosecutes others. This is a clear violation of the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment. They are not doing their jobs. They are lackeys for the pharmaceutical companies and the prison/industrial complex, and they should hang their heads in shame. Abe Lincoln said, "a prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which this country was founded." Thomas Jefferson warned that tyranny advances in small steps, and that it is our duty as free citizens to stand against it. If we don't stop this madness, we can kiss the great American experiment in individual freedoms good-bye. – Ervin Dargan Mill SpringHurrah For The Pot Police: Cheers to the 25 brave officers who served God, state and county during the July raid of the pony-tailed pot farmer [Xpress, April 12, "Casualties of war"]. It makes me proud, as I write my yearly checks to the IRS and the State Revenue Office in Raleigh, to know that the money will support such noble efforts in the future. Hats off to the Asheville Police Department officers who so courageously joined the raid; $192 each to harass some long-haired, back-to-the-land freak is a small price to pay for a pot-free America. Obviously, we need to buy more advanced surveillance helicopters, so we can do better than the fuzzy images these underfunded agencies come up with. I'm sure – with more generous funding for high-tech-camera development – wedding bands, as well as pot seeds, could be better analyzed. There are, at this present time, perhaps hundreds of law-breaking citizens quietly smoking dope in houses that should be hooked up to a giant network of infrared surveillance cameras capable of distinguishing the different burning rates of tobacco and pot. These people should be put in jail before they start organizing for their "rights." I find it distasteful for Xpress to interview the [drug-war] opponents and publish letters such as Brian Kester's [April 12, "Your moral/legal obligation to fight the War on Drugs"]. http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2000/0412letters.htmlLetters such as his are extremely dangerous in their potential to undermine the legal authority and moral righteousness of the government – federal, state and local. The trillions of tax dollars spent on what Kester calls "domestic terrorism of our own citizens" is more rightly a healthy eradication of a pestilence that has been growing since the hippie '60s. The modern King James Bible nowhere mentions pot, cannabis, weed, buds, blunts, mooters, griffo, or spliffs. As a Christian society, we must make sure everyone uses only the culturally ordained drugs of alcohol and tobacco. As for the "Community of Compassion," they sound like a bunch of commies. Their subversive drive to force a marijuana referendum could turn this town into a giant forest of kudzu and ganja. Don't sign their petition, or the Cherokee will rise up and the rastas will take over City Council. Everyone will be wearing G-strings, and riding bikes and skateboards everywhere. Strict marijuana enforcement should be the highest priority of the Asheville Police Department. Pot may be a sacred herb in India and Africa – but here in America, face it: It's an evil drug. So don't confuse your readers with compassion, conscientious objection and all that hippie crap. They might not pay their taxes. – Name withheld at writer's requestPublished: April 27, 2000©2000 Mountain Xpress Asheville, NCJean Marlowe's Home Pagehttp://www.legalize.com/greenhouse/jmarlowe/
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by Ryan E. Parker on April 28, 2000 at 18:04:19 PT:
More B.S. from the A.P.D.
This strikes close to home since I was put on an Asheville Police Department list some years ago because someone falsely accused me of being a pot dealer. I'm sick of these Gestapo type tactics. Jean Marlowe is a political prisoner as far as I'm concerned. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 27, 2000 at 10:49:52 PT
On Line Poll!
 Question: Mandatory Drug Testing For Children:1. Ensure our kids are free of illegal substances   2. Don't subject our children to these tests http://www.vote.com/vote/7570708/index.phtml?cat=4075633
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: