cannabisnews.com: Drug Legalization Forum Focuses on Education Drug Legalization Forum Focuses on Education Posted by CN Staff on February 18, 2003 at 14:38:13 PT By Candace Sweat, Contributor To The Shorthorn Source: The Shorthorn George McMahon sat in front of the University Center Rosebud Theatre on Tuesday, a can of marijuana cigarettes in hand. He says he is one of five medical marijuana patients in the United States. McMahon joined former Dallas Cowboy center Mark Stepnoski for a “Just Say Know” forum sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Speakers during the forum included the former football player, a former head of the Dallas Drug Enforcement Agency, a Fort Worth police officer and McMahon. Melissa Milam, founder and president of the campus chapter, said the forum’s main goal was to educate.“If most people knew about the damaging effects of the drug war, the U.S. would not have some of the problems we do,” the broadcast communications senior said.Milam said the chapter’s responsibility is to inform the community and motivate people to take action.“Texas is $10 billion in debt, and education budgets are being slashed,” she said. “There is something fundamentally wrong when prison comes before education.”Members of the organization sat behind a table full of shirts, books and posters with statements like “War on Drugs: Prison for the Poor, White House for the Rich” and illustrations of President George W. Bush snorting cocaine with the word hypocrite at the bottom.“The drug war is a lost cause,” nursing sophomore David Hargrove said. “The government is fighting a multi-billion dollar industry.”Hargrove said he has studied the drug war for a long time and was interested in the forum after seeing a poster.About 100 people, from young adults to senior citizens, filed into the auditorium, which seats a little more than 400.McMahon began the forum by describing his 1988 diagnosis of Nail-Patella Syndrome, which he claims was previously treated with ineffective drugs.He applied to the National Institution of Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration to become one the original 15 patients who would receive legal marijuana treatment.“I receive the marijuana for pain, nausea and spasms,” McMahon said. He receives 300 marijuana cigarettes a month and is prescribed to smoke up to 10 a day.Though his situation is rare, he said he and his wife, Margaret, have the ultimate goal of helping change laws that make the drug illegal.Speaker Howard Wooldridge spoke on prohibition and police exploitation of rights.“Law enforcement has been charged with the impossible task of protecting citizens from their own mistakes,” the former Fort Worth police officer said. He included in his speech “tips” to avoid becoming a “victim” in the drug war, such as knowing what one’s rights are based on the Fourth Amendment. Stepnoski, the current president of the National Organization for Reformation of Marijuana Laws, spoke about what he calls ineffective ways the government educates young people about drugs. He said he wants to get the truth out to young people.“When I began supporting drug legalization,” he said, “I was accused of being a poor role model.” Note: About 100 people attend the event, which featured former Dallas Cowboy Mark Stepnoski.Source: Shorthorn, The (TX Edu Arlington)Author: Candace Sweat, Contributor To The ShorthornPublished: February 5, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The ShorthornWebsite: http://www.theshorthorn.com/Contact: online-editor.shorthorn uta.eduRelated Articles & Web Sites:SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/NORMLhttp://www.norml.orgGeorge McMahon's Home Pagehttp://www.trvnet.net/~mmcmahon/Fired Up - Washington Times http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15238.shtmlPatient Receives Federal Marijuana To Quell Pain http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14900.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 18, 2003 at 21:20:56 PT Important E-Mail News CA REPRESENATIVES ANNOUNCE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEFENSE BILL Rep. Farr honored for advocacy by families of convicted growers and jurorsSacramento: Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) will be honored in Sacramento by the families of medical marijuana growers convicted under federal law for his efforts in the struggle to decriminalize medical marijuana.Rep. Farr, along with Reps. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06) and Dana Rohrbacher (CA-46), will introduce legislation this year that will create two legal categories of marijuana - medical and criminal. The bipartisan legislation will allow growers who can prove they grow their product for medical use only to use that fact as a valid defense in a federal trial. As of now, federal judges do not allow any evidence of justified growth and distribution of marijuana, even in any one of the eight states and the District of Columbia with medical marijuana statutes."In states such as California, which has a medical marijuana statute allowing for its growth and distribution, growers are still subject to raid, arrest and prosecution from federal agencies," remarked Rep. Farr. "We have seen this happen time and time again. These federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Justice Department have no respect for the laws we here in California have established to allow patients to live pain-free lives."The purpose of this bill is to allow defendants in federal criminal trials to introduce evidence that their marijuana-related activity was performed for a valid medical purpose under state law. If a jury finds that a defendant was following state medical marijuana law, then the defendant should not be sent to prison. It's as simple as that," he said.The families of Bryan Epis and Ed Rosenthal, along with several of the jurors from Mr. Rosenthal's federal trial will be on hand to thank the Congressman for sponsoring this legislation and his work over the past several years on this issue."Thank you Sam Farr, Lynn Woolsey and Dana Rohrbacher from patients, providers, and their families and all of your constituents who voted for proposition 215. This bill will ensure that the will of the voters of California will be upheld" said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans For Safe Access, the organization responsible for tomorrows events.WHAT: Press conference to thank Rep. Sam Farr for his work on decriminalizing medical marijuanaWHO: Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel), Asm. Mark Leno, Steph Sherer, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access, Cheryl Epis and Ashley Epis, wife and daughter of Bryan Epis, Jane Klein, wife of Ed Rosenthal, and Jurors from the Rosenthal trial.WHERE: State Capitol, Governor's Press Office 1190 SacramentoWHEN: Wednesday, February 19th, 3:00 pmHilary McQuie, Campaign Coordinator, Americans for Safe Access - 1678 Shattuck Ave. #317 - Berkeley, CA 94709 - Phone: 510-486-8083 Fax: 510-486-8090 -- http://www.safeaccessnow.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on February 18, 2003 at 20:13:35 PT Keeping an eye on the fascist pill people From http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,897306,00.htmlSarah Boseley Tuesday February 18, 2003 The Guardian Profits 2001 Pfizer Inc $ 7,788m Glaxo SmithKline $ 7,325 m Merck & Co $ 7,282 m Bristol-Myers Squibb $ 5,242m Abbott Laboratories $ 1,550m Political donations, US election cycle 2002 Pfizer Inc $ 1.67m Bristol-Myers Squibb $ 1.57m Glaxo SmithKline $ 1.14m Abbott Laboratories $ 0.64m Merck & Co $ 0.57m Industry total $ 19.07m * The vast majority of donations were to the Republicans, from 77% (Merck & Co) to 93% (Abbott Laboratories). Across the industry 95% of donations go to the Republicans. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on February 18, 2003 at 18:01:19 PT Corruption,CorruptMedia,It'sthemoney,LB&O “The drug war is a lost cause,” nursing sophomore David Hargrove said. “The government is fighting a multi-billion dollar industry.”It is not enough that just the Americans pay the price with their liberty and treasure and sometimes life: we let the government carry it worldwide in our name. Two present articles at NarcoNews make it abundantly clear the US is a merchant of misery. Paragraph of the day is the warning to the article by Ashley Kennedy that is linked below at NarcoNews:Warning: This contains sarcasm, anger and self- examination, which can cause side effects of extreme indignation when mixed with puritanical denial of the truth. May cause stomach upset or vomiting in those who value ancient cultures. Do not operate heavy machinery in the dark while reading it. Does not mix with American propaganda. If blind faith in drug war persists, please consult a mental health care professional immediately.There is one great article up about coca and the coca tradition. It speaks to the issue of a failed WOD mentioned in the article. I will copy two paragraphs that will inform you that while we are poisoning people, plants, and animals all over Latin America Coca-Cola still uses the coca leaf for its namesake product. There is one sentence and another couple of noteworthy paragraphs also.The Superior Bush is a great article by Ashley Kennedy- http://www.narconews.com/Issue28/article638.html It is a 10.I realized that my government had fed me a steady diet of lies about coca. They failed to mention that the coca leaf was non-addictive, life-sustaining and full of legitimate medicinal properties.It seems the US government is too willing to oblige, repressing the native cultures of the Andean region in its quest for complete domination, uh, I mean complete victory in its War on Drugs. How convenient that the area is rich in natural resources including oil, gold, emeralds and uranium. How convenient that Monsanto, the heavy campaign-contributing company which makes a concentrated herbicide that’s been used to spray coca crops in Colombia with devastating environmental consequences, also makes the genetically-modified seeds that are being proposed as an alternative crop. Just what the fuck are we doing meddling around in Colombia anyway? So what does the US government, backed by my grudgingly-given war tax dollars, offer to the South Americans in coca’s stead besides guns, poisoned soil, military bases and forced submission to destructive, imperialistic US designs? Oh! I know. They offer a plateful of blood-soaked hypocrisy. While the DEA decries the proliferation of the coca crop in militarily-strategic Colombia, they consistently and quietly clear the bureaucratic way for the New Jersey-based Stepan Company’s importation of coca from Bolivia and Peru so that it can be processed into the secret ingredient in Coca Cola (shhh… it’s a secret), as well as pharmaceutical cocaine. Believe it; It’s the Real Thing. It’s not an urban legend; the proof is easily accessible online in the US Federal Register. So what if Coca Cola no longer puts cocaine in their sodas? They still use the coca leaf. I never wanted llama piss and kerosene in my soda anyway, so good riddance to the cocaine. But what exactly makes it acceptable for one of the largest corporations in the US to distribute coca for herds of unwitting American sheeple to digest, but unacceptable for the people who have nurtured the plant, whose very culture and livelihoods are inextricably intertwined with coca to use it in the same, nay, in a less harmful manner? So what if Coca Cola no longer puts cocaine in their sodas? They still use the coca leaf. I never wanted llama piss and kerosene in my soda anyway, so good riddance to the cocaine. But what exactly makes it acceptable for one of the largest corporations in the US to distribute coca for herds of unwitting American sheeple to digest, but unacceptable for the people who have nurtured the plant, whose very culture and livelihoods are inextricably intertwined with coca to use it in the same, nay, in a less harmful manner? How did I go for 33 years without raw coca? I thought I was hip and well-informed about entheogens, but apparently I was just another misguided, self-absorbed American. Coca has been the backbone of Andean culture for over 3000 years, and for good reason. It’s full of things like B-complex vitamins, protein, calcium, potassium, beta carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc and iron. It increases the oxygenation of the circulatory system, suppresses hunger, increases mental clarity, boosts energy, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and is totally vegan! It even whitens teeth. I need a coca bush of my own; I could quit buying coffee, tooth bleach and aspirin. Hell, my ass might finally shrink to a respectable size. This alone is reason enough to leave the campesinos (farmers) unmolested. Another article is an interview done at the Merida Conference that includes this paragraph- http://www.narconews.com/Issue28/article637.html -María Mercedes Moreno: In Colombia now we have a paramilitary president. Uribe has bonds to this group. And even if the paramilitaries were put on the terrorist groups list, the Unites States is willing to dialogue with them. And that’s because Carlos Castaño gave himself to the United States and made a commitment to stop narcotic trafficking. This is about controlling narcotics trafficking, it’s said that it’s about democracy and other values, but it’s about controlling this industry. It’s not about fighting narcotics trafficking, this is just about controlling the territory. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment