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| Polis: Marijuana Was A Great Association For Me |
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Posted by CN Staff on March 22, 2013 at 18:50:52 PT By Amanda Terkel Source: Huffington Post 
Colorado -- Associating with popular individuals -- whether they're celebrities, local leaders or other politicians -- is a key strategy in any political campaign. But in Rep. Jared Polis' (D-Colo.) 2012 reelection effort, that popular entity wasn't a person but a plant: marijuana. "My campaign headquarters last summer, we shared [a building] with a dispensary,” Polis said while visiting a pot dispensary this week, National Journal reports. "You could see the sign, it was like: 'Marijuana, Jared Polis.' Marijuana outperformed me by 10 points, so it was a great association for me." Polis spoke about his campaign from the soon-to-be-opened Metropolitan Wellness Center in Washington, D.C. With him were Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Hill staffers, marijuana advocates and center employees. According to National Journal, within months, "certain D.C. residents will be able to come [to the center] to legally choose from more than a dozen strains of medical marijuana, from Master Kush to Blue Dream." Last year, voters in Colorado and Washington state legalized marijuana use. It remains illegal under federal law, however. National Journal notes that Polis and Blumenauer have introduced legislation to end the federal prohibition and set up a way to tax the sale of cannabis. Last month, Polis did an "Ask Me Anything" conversation on Reddit. One user asked him which "moneyed interests" were blocking progress on marijuana legalization. "The law enforcement industrial complex," Polis replied. "All those on the gravy train of the drug war which means parts of law enforcement and their private sector vendors." Source: Huffington Post (NY) CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
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Comment #2 posted by mexweed on March 23, 2013 at 10:53:14 PT:
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| Surprised but not so surprised that Rep. Polis doesn't mention the worldwide Hot Burning Overdose Monoxide $igarette marketing colossus (just the "legal" part an estimated $400-bil./yr.) as the principal "private sector" facing utter collapse if arrest-risk is removed from the cannabis issue. Maybe the logic is too indirect to attract the attention of Keep-It-Simple-Stupid experts. Cannabis legalization will remove the risk of getting caught, shamed, expelled, disowned, disinherited, divorced, fired etc. under "PARAPHERNALIA LAWS" just for owning a one-hitter or vaporizer (low-dosage alternative), whereas $igarette papers are EASIER TO HIDE (and $igarettes are, among many cops, somehow not considered drugs). Once the cannabis user population is free to use a dosage restriction utensil (25 mg per toke) this CONSERVATIVE practice could spread over into the inhalant tobacco user population (currently still over 40 million, US), resulting in a reduction from an average 10-20 $igarettes per day per user to quantities of tobacco adding up to less than one (1) $igarette per day! Compared to that loss of over 90% of the nicotine overdose bizness, the elimination of cannabis arrests would remove less than 50% of the PIGS (Prison-Industrial-Government-Syndicate) profit base. Even considering his good intentions and honorable credentials on the cannabis issue, it may be surmised that Rep. Polis, like other pols, is exposed to the pro-tobacckgo bias (or "patriotic" nostalgia) that pervades Wash, DC., located as it is in the heart of tobacco-raising country-- what say we move the Nation's Capital to Silicon/Winegrape Valley-- or Humboldt County-- or maybe even just Denver? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by afterburner on March 23, 2013 at 07:36:57 PT |
| Matt Sledge.
msledge@huffingtonpost.com .
Medical Marijuana Reformers Ask D.C. Circuit Court For Another Hearing.
Posted: 03/22/2013 5:37 pm EDT | Updated: 03/22/2013 6:10 pm EDT
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/medical-marijuana-dc-circuit_n_2935429.html [ Post Comment ] |
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