cannabisnews.com: U.S. Drug Czar Praises 'Positive' PM U.S. Drug Czar Praises 'Positive' PM Posted by CN Staff on December 24, 2003 at 09:27:10 PT By Sheldon Alberts and Janice Tibbetts Source: Ottawa Citizen U.S. drug czar John Walters praised Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday for vowing to overhaul federal marijuana legislation and said he hopes for an end to the "abrasiveness" that marked Canada-U.S. relations under Jean Chretien.In a sign of the Bush administration's eagerness to improve strained relations with the federal government, Mr. Walters took the rare step of publicly congratulating Mr. Martin for announcing plans to crack down on marijuana growers and repeat users when he reintroduces the government's marijuana bill next year. "I have been encouraged because of the statements he has made about marijuana being a serious drug," Mr. Walters said. "He has made an effort to show a recognition that he does not side with those who say this is a soft drug, or that this is something you don't have to pay attention to."Mr. Walters' comments came as the Supreme Court of Canada refused to elevate marijuana smoking to a constitutional right yesterday in a ruling that allows Parliament to criminalize any behaviour it sees fit to protect people from harm."There is no free-standing constitutional right to smoke 'pot' for recreational purposes," justices Ian Binnie and recently retired Charles Gonthier wrote in the 6-3 decision.The majority, in upholding the current law, rejected the arguments advanced by three B.C. marijuana enthusiasts, who claimed it breaches the Charter of Rights to threaten someone with a criminal record for what they contend is a victimless crime.It was the Supreme Court's first test of the 80-year-old prohibition on cannabis possession and the majority sided with the government on every point, saying that any change in the law is up to federal politicians."It is open to Parliament to decriminalize or otherwise modify any aspect of the marijuana laws that it no longer considers to be good public policy," said the 82-page majority decision.Mr. Walters, director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, became one of the Bush administration's toughest critics of Mr. Chretien after the former prime minister introduced legislation earlier this year to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/praises.htmSource: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)Author: Sheldon Alberts and Janice Tibbetts Published: Wednesday, December 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.canwest.comWebsite: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmDreams Go Up in Smoke for Marijuana Activistshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18043.shtmlCanada Supreme Court Upholds Marijuana Ban http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18036.shtmlSober End To Year of Pot Activism Highshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18034.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #59 posted by jose melendez on December 28, 2003 at 06:34:25 PT also, bet the drug czar refuses to acknowledge this:Safefty. Efficacy. Not.http://www.medrants.com/archives/cat_pharmaceutical_industry.html take THAT [ Post Comment ] Comment #58 posted by jose melendez on December 28, 2003 at 04:37:05 PT bet the drug czar can't stop these http://sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0001A3E4-764F-1ED9-8E1C809EC588EF21&chanID=sa008 Article III, Section 3 defines drug war as treason. Really. Got that, ONDCP? [ Post Comment ] Comment #57 posted by FoM on December 27, 2003 at 11:39:33 PT Off Topic What will this mean if it turns out to be true? This is not good at all. I hope they are just pointing fingers again.U.S. Says Mad Cow Was Imported from Canada: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4049174 [ Post Comment ] Comment #56 posted by jose melendez on December 27, 2003 at 09:03:44 PT " . . . they’re hoping it goes away," John Di Oh, Canada: What if YOUR drugs were illegal?http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3751410/ Buy books not bullets: it's the harm, stupid. [ Post Comment ] Comment #55 posted by E_Johnson on December 25, 2003 at 20:03:28 PT We're brave little hobbits We have to believe we can succeed even though our adversary is so much bigger than we are and more cruel than we can imagine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #54 posted by jose melendez on December 25, 2003 at 16:57:29 PT hmmm . . . I'm skeptical, but still reading.from: http://spoerlein.iwarp.com/lifejun.html"To seek reality requires immense energy; and, if man is not doing that, he dissipates his energy in ways that create mischief, and therefore society has to control him. Now, is it possible to liberate energy in seeking God or truth and, in the process of discovering what is true, to be a citizen who understands the fundamental issues of life and whom society cannot destroy? You see, man is energy, and if man does not seek truth, this energy becomes destructive; therefore society controls and shapes the individual, which smothers this energy...And perhaps you have noticed another interesting and very simple fact: that the moment you really want to do something, you have the energy to do it...That very energy becomes the means of controlling itself, so you don’t need outside discipline. In the search for reality, energy creates its own discipline. The man who is seeking reality spontaneously becomes the right kind of citizen, which is not according to the pattern of any particular society or government. " help drug warriors quit [ Post Comment ] Comment #53 posted by FoM on December 25, 2003 at 16:53:29 PT purplethumbplum I did a search and found this and it seems to be basically the way I think. The core of Krishnamurti's teaching is contained in the statement he made in 1929 when he said: 'Truth is a pathless land'. Man cannot come to it through any organisation, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind . . . Statement by Krishnamurti in 1981. [ Post Comment ] Comment #52 posted by purplethumbplum on December 25, 2003 at 16:51:44 PT: Conformists have a hidden agenda Conformists wish to keep you from Intellegence. Some call it Self-Knowledge or using your own mind. Faith through fear with the intent to deceive is TERRORISM. [ Post Comment ] Comment #51 posted by purplethumbplum on December 25, 2003 at 16:21:11 PT: To FOM Comment 22 A Non-Conformist Conforms to Non-Conformity? This means A Person is FREE to see things AS IS. Not a bad thing at all. Is This CONFORMITY? Through FREEDOM conformity is disolved. Read Jiddu Krishnamurti ON GOD This will help. He is to psycology what Einstein is to physics. [ Post Comment ] Comment #50 posted by FoM on December 25, 2003 at 13:14:04 PT Nuevo Mexican Happy Holidays To You and Everyone!It will be a very interesting year. Everytime we are hurt by the news we step back and think about why it happened and then get going again. To me the important things are that we learn from what we do in the reform movement. Learn from mistakes and get ideas for a new way to try. That's how we will win. [ Post Comment ] Comment #49 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 25, 2003 at 12:31:52 PT Happy Holidays FOM, and all at C-News! Get ready for the backlash to the Canadian Courts decision, there is no basis for cannabis being illegal, regardless of their lame excuses! Now Canadians will see how much America, Walters, and Bush control their judges, courts, and lives. Somehow, this is for the better. Don't lose hope, look at all the progress we've made this year alone!2004 is gonna be an awsome year, 2003 was pretty amazing as far as reform goes too!Have a Peaceful, loving holiday Everyone! NM [ Post Comment ] Comment #48 posted by WolfgangWylde on December 25, 2003 at 07:16:38 PT Canadians... ...should also fight the new Martin decrim bill. The cops are already salivating over the new draconian penalties for cultivation, and the chance to heavilly fine users without doing all of the onerous arrest paperwork. Martin's decrim will be a disaster for the movmement. [ Post Comment ] Comment #47 posted by OverwhelmSam on December 25, 2003 at 06:11:32 PT: Campaigns Against Elected Marijuana Prohibitionist Time to turn our attention from the courts to each and every Representative and Senator in Congress. The only way we can win is by getting people like Biden and Souder voted out of Congress. [ Post Comment ] Comment #46 posted by mayan on December 25, 2003 at 00:42:56 PT DeVoHawk... Here's an interesting article about Christmas...The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus: http://cannabisculture.com/articles/3136.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #45 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 22:10:35 PT DeVoHawk Merry Christmas! Have a Great Day! [ Post Comment ] Comment #44 posted by DeVoHawk on December 24, 2003 at 21:53:27 PT Merry Christmas Greetings from Kansas. I wish everyone the best always but hope that today is extra special. Does Santa smoke pot? I left some out for him! Maybe that's why he eats so many cookies? [ Post Comment ] Comment #43 posted by The GCW on December 24, 2003 at 19:42:09 PT Another school search, this one with groping. "According to other students Gallegos' daughter talked to, they, too, had been groped and searched by the assistant principal."US TX: Parent Upset Over Undercover Drug Sweephttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1979/a05.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Comment #42 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 19:13:16 PT SGD Here is the link, but please wait until some of the locals have a go at me (it may not come very quick with Christmas and all, you can check and/or I'll let you know), then unleash and RANT ON!!!http://www.delriolive.com/langtry/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=national&Number=5391&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #41 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 18:56:36 PT Thanks Virgil, I'll take your advice and try it! SGD, I'll post the link to where I post this soon, it could get interesting, but I don't think that it will be too favorable because of all of the law enforcement here. But you guys may be able to help! I'll post it and see what happens! [ Post Comment ] Comment #40 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 18:54:11 PT SystemGoneDown I don't know if you are talking to me but I don't rant. [ Post Comment ] Comment #39 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 24, 2003 at 18:46:57 PT Sukoi FoM Is it alright if I spit something at whoever this is? Who are you guys ranting to? [ Post Comment ] Comment #38 posted by Virgil on December 24, 2003 at 18:43:03 PT Sukoi- read this thread http://gaffney.proboards13.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&num=1060221103Your heading has to fit in a confined space and it is your heading that is most important. I would keep it simple. You see I chose, "Why is marijuana illegal?" Because it helps the cause to do away with all word marijuana, I would now ask,"Why is laughing grass illegal?"Whatever follows is all you. It does not matter. It is the question itself that counts. Just go for it as in do something even if it is wrong. In this case you cannot say anything wrong when it comes from your heart. You will not have to take on the world. People know what laughing grass is and half the people have used it and do not like the laws and the price and the inconveniences and the hassle anymore than you.Give them a Free Cannabis For Everyone for me if you can. [ Post Comment ] Comment #37 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 18:16:51 PT To all (Virgil especially) I was about to post this in my local forum, and wanted to know if anyone had any input/suggestions. keep in mind that I live on the TX MX border and the biggest employer here is law enforcement. Any input is welcome!Why exactly are marijuana, cannabis, and hemp illegal?I ask this question because it seems that 90% of the public hasn’t got a clue. I’m curious to see if anyone who reads this forum actually does know the answer to this question. If you do know the answer but nothing more, great you get a “D” in knowledge on this subject! If you don’t, you get an “F-“ but don’t feel bad, you’ve been misinformed (for most) your whole life, it’s not your fault, the government has been lying to you but you can recover! To end prohibition or continue with prohibition is not the question here, although I’m sure it will turn into exactly that. What do you know, are you “people” or “sheeple”? Don’t you want to know why YOU jail innocent people at an enormous expense, and don’t you want to know why YOU are spending $145,000,000 on “anti marijuana” ads? You may not care that your tax dollars go to locking up innocent people, but I certainly do! I would especially like to hear from people in law enforcement on this issue, what are your opinions and what do you REALLY know? [ Post Comment ] Comment #36 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 24, 2003 at 18:12:23 PT Drugs... I don't know the who came up with these results but as far as marijuana being legal, this says it all... http://www.drugwarfacts.org/addictiv.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #35 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 17:43:10 PT Alternative News I believe that alternative news is the news. CNews is alternative news too. What I like about the Internet is we can sort through web sites and find more details then with the mainstream news. Not all sites are reputable but most times they won't last very long in this competitive world of news if they don't verify what is posted. The Internet has matured and finding good alternative news sites is and will become much easier. What would we do without alternative news? [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by Virgil on December 24, 2003 at 17:32:13 PT Relevant by Internet The Internet is the only thing that brings real news to us on anything cannabis. It is the Internet that has delivered us to the present understanding of the cannabis we have.The media sucks and the Internet responds. Truthout has started audio messages to bring us truth and speak in non-officialdomese. This link examples the Internet filling the need vacated by whoring media conglomerates- http://www.truthout.org/overview.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by CorvallisEric on December 24, 2003 at 17:16:03 PT MSNBC Rush Limbaugh used to gripe about them all the time, as if they were the worst Left-wing aberration on TV. He called them PMSNBC. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 16:00:29 PT sukoi Thank you for the link! [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 15:47:46 PT FoM, here's the link for feedback to MSNBC http://support.msn.com/feedback.aspx?productkey=news&CW=1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 15:32:05 PT sukoi Very good idea! Thanks! I know I kept looking for the transcripts and they never surfaced until MPP had them. I knew he probably wasn't coming back. They didn't keep Phil Donahue either so it didn't surprise me. The stations are lining up on the right it seems more then ever. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 15:26:58 PT MSNBC I just sent them a nasty gram about not posting the transcript asking them why they don't report the "real" news. It probably won't do any good, but I feel better now! [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by The GCW on December 24, 2003 at 15:22:19 PT E Johnson asks in #13, "How do you get people to go to war?" One way is to remove the peace plant from the people's culture, which then leaves people edgy and worse. As long as the people have what God created to help inhance peace that is kaneh bosm - the peace plant, war's chance of even devoping are deminished.Heal the nations and there will not be war. So if YOu (not You E.J. but...) want war... if You have the taste for blood and You want war more than peace, do not allow the tree of life to heal the nations.420A little bush with a big interest in war fears the peaceplant. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 14:49:10 PT Jose I thought he would be taken off the air. I think he thought it too and went for broke. They never posted thr transcripts for the show. The transcripts came from MPP.http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3719710&p1=0 [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by jose melendez on December 24, 2003 at 14:42:27 PT Did msnbc cave to ondcp? Maybe if we buy enough seeds, Marc emery could afford to hire Jesse Ventura?http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/7565598.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Article III, Section 3 defines drug war as treason. Really. Got that, John W.? [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 14:10:45 PT sukoi Thank you! I saw the concert and it was good. I'd like for them to have a Pink Floyd concert. Maybe they will. I watched U2 and the concert was good too.Merry Christmas!PS: The Concert for George on DVD was great. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by Virgil on December 24, 2003 at 14:05:26 PT Laughing Grass Websites Bookmarks are kept in folders. You can bookmark individual articles but you soon get a long list. It is best to put individual articles in a folder like “temporary1” or “tempdec24” or even “miscellaneous”. My homepage is DU and I have the link to cannabisnews outside a folder at the top of my bookmarks.I have three folders for drug war websites called MaryJane, MaryJane2, and MaryJane3. In just a minute, I will rename the LG, LG1, and LG2. I will put up ten websites in the effort of victory by list. http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca/ Marc Emory in British Columbiahttp://www.hempbc.com/ This is Cannabis Culture magazine.http://www.cedro-uva.org/index.html / Drug policy group from Holland. It does not have but a handful of reports, but half are excellent in a true sense of the word.http://www.drugsense.org/ One of the most important website on the Net for archival purposes. These are the people that sponsor cannabisnews and MAPinc,org They have a victory by list thing going and list many important websites here- http://www.mapinc.org/dpr.htm So I will not list mapinc.org since they are on that important list. They have NORML and others that are on my bookmarks that are not listed here.http://www.drugwar.com/index.shtm Preston Peet runs this and has written some good stuff at times.http://freedomtoexhale.com/ This would be FoM’s personal website that you see linked often when snipped sources are on Cnews.http://www.marijuana.com/ This may be the most popular website on the Internet for cannabis enthusiast. I cut my teeth on marijuana.com as many other people did because one day I just wondered where to go on the Internet and typed in marijuana. Maybe laughinggrass.com will replace it. Are you reading Outlaw Jose Inhales? This link goes to the news page where xxDrZombie does the news. You might think him my twin brother we think so much alike. Then there two sections. One is Overgrow where they talk cultivation. The other is cheaptalk where cannabis cultures collide.http://www.marijuananews.com/ This is Richard Cowan’s website. A person with a developing cannabis perspective needs to read everything written here.http://www.pot-tv.net/ This is hosted by Marc Emery. This site is mentioned often on Cnews and it explains itself. It is one of the most powerful websites for the defeat of prohibition. It is yet to realize its potential, but its quality increases as well as its archives. Soros would do well to have a mirror site in the US. http://members.aol.com/deawatch/daily.htm DEAwatch is highly informative on what some people on the inside think. You will either like it or not like it.Now if you do not have time to bookmark all of these. Then bookmark the list. Hit “Recent Comments” and select Virgil for this comment. The articles at Cnews are numbered and when you select a comment it will have “#XX” after it. So if you go to a comment from Recent Comments it will appear in the address bar and if you bookmark it then, it will bring back the thread and go to the bookmark This comment should be http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread18045.shtml#24 [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 14:03:46 PT FoM Completely off topic but... I know that you like Classic Rock, as do I. I don't know if you get it or not, but there is a Freeview Allman Brothers concert on right now on Direct TV channel 103! [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 13:56:48 PT SystemGoneDown I know I don't get news from the channels you mentioned but some people do. I admire free thinkers as long as they use their thoughts wisely. An example of how I believe free thinking should be done is Michael Moore. He quietly sets out to write a book that says something to some people. He doesn't talk about it but quietly writes and finds proof and writes some more. He is a humble man but very strong in his opinions. He weighs his words carefully and he has achieved a following of people from different political backgrounds. I think that free thinkers think they have all the answers sometimes. I was a non conformist when I was young and prided myself on being a non conformist. I had counceling like we did in Catholic school with a priest and I told him I didn't believe everything I was told and was a non conformist. He sat back in his chair and grinned a little and said this to me. He said even non conformists conform to something. I said what would that be? He said a non conformist conforms to non conformity so there is no such thing as a non conformist. Try to figure that one out. It really stuck in my head! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by E_Johnson on December 24, 2003 at 13:48:54 PT Have a roots reggae Christmas It's what I'n listenting to now. I subscribed to Rhapsody and they have a lot of cool Christmas music.Santa Claus is ska-ing to downand Babylon is falling down!Jah be with you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on December 24, 2003 at 13:23:34 PT It's what abusive people do Abusive people hurt people and then deny that their victims felt pain.That's what Walters is doing.This is an abusive society and it has become abusive on both the right and the left. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 13:14:22 PT freedom fighter Merry Christmas to you too! [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by freedom fighter on December 24, 2003 at 13:11:02 PT Merry Christmas to the CN family!Good people are hard to find and I count this site one of them!With much Love,Merry ChristmasPeace on Earthff [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by freedom fighter on December 24, 2003 at 13:03:34 PT Johnny Pee the Stigmatizer! From this article..................................................But he dismissed claims by Canadian supporters of decriminalization that criminal convictions for marijuana possession will unfairly stigmatize youth who only experiment with the drug.He called the argument a "lie that legalizers have created" to increase pressure on politicians to decriminalize cannabis. .........................................................I wish he would say that out aloud to the Americans. ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Virgil on December 24, 2003 at 12:55:48 PT A good time for that question It might be best to be on another forum, but as this is Christmas and there will be a new wave of Internet users as computers are added and passed on, I will give you an answer SGD.There are several ways of going about it. I would really suggest going to http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/ and read threads and learn to use bookmarks. Bookmark everything and then you can see your categories. It uses so little memory and they can be deleted with a right click and a click on delete.Secondly, I would go to http://www.alexa.com/ In the upper left-hand corner they have the top 500 websites. They also have top web-sites by subject. If there is a website you like you can enter it to find its rank and its area of focus. It will also give you websites that are favored by people that use that website. It rates websites by stars and cannabisnews.com is rated with 5 stars.My favorite website for original content is CounterPunch- http://www.counterpunch.org/A good website that presents many links is buzzflash- http://www.buzzflash.com/You can enter those into Alexa.com and see what other people that like that website like. For real reporting Alternet.org and TomPaine.com and Reason.org and that is why they actually write about cannabis issues that ring true and make there way here.I hope that gets you started and really bookmark everything and learn that. You can wipe out a whole category with a click, so just create a folder called "Temporary" and add every website to it. Then right click and hit delete and start over. If you are going to be an Internet warrior, bookmarks are your main weapon as they deliver the dreaded informantion the silencers of prohibition hate. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Granfalloon on December 24, 2003 at 12:55:22 PT Missing the Point It's terrible how this article, like so many other news releases (and like the prohibitionists in the Supreme Court itself, it seems) treats this issue like it were just about marijuana:"...the Supreme Court of Canada refused to elevate marijuana smoking to a constitutional right...""There is no free-standing constitutional right to smoke 'pot' for recreational purposes," justices Ian Binnie and recently retired Charles Gonthier wrote in the 6-3 decision.But none of this is really what the defense was arguing, or at least I hope it wasn't. They weren't trying to "elevate" pot-smoking to a constitutional right, they were trying to show that it has been a constitutional right since the Charter was written up. They weren't arguing that there is some specific "free-standing" right to smoke pot, they were arguing that it can be used harmlessly enough to be covered under the already existing guarantees of life, liberty, and security of person. Like the Kubbys put so eloquently on they're website, "This is no more about Marijuana than the Boston Tea Party was about Tea." [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by E_Johnson on December 24, 2003 at 11:37:32 PT OOps correction "NOT going to make you very unpopular"I meant it was NOT going to make you very popular.Jews who didn't want to attempt a violent overthrow of Roman occupation were not very popular with those who did. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by E_Johnson on December 24, 2003 at 11:34:38 PT Power, politics, trauma and Christmas The Max Planck Institute experiment showed that the CB1 receptors and cannabinoids are what the brain uses to overcome the damage from traumatic events. The rat who gets shocked won't ever go back to the place where he was shocked, if he has no CB1 receptors and can't process cannabinoids in his brain. If he does have CB1 receptors, he can go back, he can heal from the shock and return to a normal life.How has human society functioned so far? Cycles of warfare that magically profit a few while harming many.How do you get people to go to war? You fill their heads with fear based on some trauma they experienced. Find someone to blame for this trauma and let the people loose!Milosevic stirred up memories of past trauma for the Serbs to get them to engage in ethnic cleansing of the Muslims. Yugolavia was once a long time ago under a very brutal Islamic domination. Thee are a lot of ugly violent horrific stories from that period and they couldbe used to induce emotional trauma on young people in the modern era who heard them often enough. A leader who can unite his people under the banner of a traumatic memory is going to be able to get them to go to war for him or do a lot of other things for him that profit mainly him.This is one reason why cannabis is such a threat.Suppose you're a Serb during the war who doesn't feel all that threatened by Muslims and doesn't really think it's necessary to run them out of the country.Your neighbors are going to hate you and consider you disloyal for that. They might even start hating you more than they hate the Muslims. Traitor! Coward! Maybe people who use marijuana do not display the appropriate trauma-based reactions to what everyone else in society is feeling traumatized over.Maybe that's part of the hate.And we're less easily manipulated to go into war, we're less easily crushed emotionally by a display of brute force against us.So that's why we end up targeted by those who love power, as has happened before in history.Cannabis prohibition throughout history has followed some patterns and it's time we start trying to make sense out of those patterns.Maybe this does have a lot to do with Christ.One reason He was reviled by His own society during His lifetime was because during the Roman occupation, espousing the idea of loving your enemy -- the Romans! -- was NOT going to make you very unpopular with people who were traumatized by the brutality of the occupation.So maybe they were cannabis users and the marginalized and reviled status of early Christians had a lot to do with cannabis users being more healed from Roman trauma than the unhealed people around them could stand to witness.The unhealed people won't accept the healing. The ones who accept the healing will have their tears wiped away, because the Tree of Life is for the healing of the nations.So today we celebrate the birth of the man who would carry that idea into the world.I don't think people have quite gotten the idea yet.So we can carry it some more and see how far we can get. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 24, 2003 at 11:20:39 PT FoM Merry Xmas to all to. But FoM. Let me ask you. When people use the internet, where do they go to? Foxnews.com, cnn.com, nbc.com, ect. ect. It's all the same. System Of a Down have a saying "Free Thinkers are Dangerous". The only way to see through the news is if you have that spark in your head and develop a grudge against something you don't believe in. But not everybody is a "Free Thinker". For example, I never saw the lies of TV and media until I started getting curious to why Person A is getting arrested for marijuana and Person B is getting violent from alcohol and not facing prosecution. Most people don't see this scenario, they see the LAW, and they've been taught by the world around them that the LAW is the LAW and nothing else matters, just adjust to them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 11:06:02 PT Virgil, I noticed that you are the newest member at the Juneau Empire bbs. Let us know when you make a post. I'll be sure to jump in when appropriate! I'm working a bbs in my area and have gained a little interest. There aren't too many people in the area who read it, but it's really the only one locally! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 11:05:32 PT SystemGoneDown I know I don't get news from the tv. It isn't true news. The Internet gives us what we need I believe. I'll be dead and gone before anyone gets put in jail for what they have done to us so I don't worry about what I won't be here to witness. Have a Merry Christmas! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 24, 2003 at 11:00:32 PT John Walters/TV = BullShiit... We are putting the wrong people in prison. John Walters and the entire Bush administration should be in jail. They unintentionally lie for a living. Much like that Tom Riley guy on Ventura's America, when Jesse said "Thanks for being on my show, you got guts. But then again, that's your job isn't it?". Tom Riley is basically a professional liar. He was on that show because he knows how to take the heat(the truth) and spin it so it doesn't seem as bad as it is. We all watched as he dodged and spun every truth that Jesse threw at him. Tom Riley, as well as John Walters are liars by occupation. Liars for hire. They use the well-established "freedom", "national security", and "our children's future" topics to gain personal goals and immorally enhancing the power of the U.S. Their egos have done so much wrong, in the name of what is right. When will the American people wake up and stop giving FoxNews high ratings. TV is brainwashing Americans. And I'm not talking about Eminem, Marilyn Manson and Beavis and Butthead. I'm talking about the most "trustful" source of information, our local and national news. If we Americans continue to depend on these sources, the majority of the population will continuously lack a need to change things(by voting). They will get the vibe that everything's alright. And they will walk around life unknowingly depressed thinking everything's alright, and through this forced conformity - our population will allow and empower even more to the mass brutal corporations that dictate everything on TV. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 10:52:37 PT Merry Christmas Once More! I love you guys! That's what will make Christmas Merry for me! You're the best. I'm listening to Long May You Run now and that's my wish for all of you today!Long May You Run!!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on December 24, 2003 at 10:28:50 PT: Tens of millions of cannabists, thousands of antis Antis: Do the words "George Armstrong Custer" or "Little Big Horn" mean anything to you?Cannabists are the political sleeping giant that Napoleon Bonaparte referred to China as being. A voting bloc tens of millions strong that waits for the right pol (like KUCINICH!) to come along and collect them. Were they to truly get off the stick and become active, this entire matter would become moot inside of a month.Johnny Pee, keep whistling past that political graveyard; the status won't remain quo forever. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Virgil on December 24, 2003 at 10:13:52 PT Kucinich and lifting a poster There is another thread at DU on Kucinich on an interview with IT interest made at an airport on a voice recorder- http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/24/limbaugh.hearing/index.htmlYou can lift some pictures from the threads at DU. Look at #5 in the above thread for a poster. Just place your cursor on one of the pictures as you right click. Then you can chose "copy" and then you can go to Wordpad in accessories and right click again and chose "paste." So, it is easy to get pictures at DU on Kucinich for printing on a letter or a website. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 09:52:49 PT Merry Christmas: I Feel Like Bandit Today! Turnin' the pages of this old bookSounds familiar, it may be worth a second lookWrappin' up dope in a paper bagTalking to yourself taking a dragWhat does it matter the things you sayThey'll never hear it anywayGotta get past the negative thingsLawyers and business, you get what you bringNo one's sorry you did it yourselfIt's time to relax now and then give it hell****Someday you'll find what you're looking forSomeday you'll find everything you're looking forhttp://www.neilyoung.com/lyrics/lyrics_bandit.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by sukoi on December 24, 2003 at 09:52:33 PT Terrorism John Walters = International Terrorist. He should be shipped to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on December 24, 2003 at 09:44:14 PT oh, happy day more sexed-up silly rhetoric from the hapless drug czar.rejoice, such 'good news' for the prohibitionist agenda.Meanwhile, more copius cornucopias of cannabis overflows from the garden. That is the good news.Send a joint to Mr. Walters. A few hundred thousand of them may tempt him to partake. On second thought, send him a lump of coal.Defenders of the faith, keepers of the gate. The crusade for cannabis legalization will not fall short. The Beltway buffoons get nothing for Christmas. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 24, 2003 at 09:41:45 PT Related News Article from Business Wire Drug Free America Foundation Applauds Canadian High Court Decision to Keep Marijuana Illegal December 24, 2003 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 24, 2003--Drug Free America Foundation commends and supports Canada's court decision. This decision enforces the correct perception that illegal drugs are harmful, which is precisely the message that we need to be sending to our children. The drug policy reform movement has been working throughout the United States and internationally to tear down drug laws and ultimately legalize drugs. This agenda is pursued through decriminalization efforts and under the guise of medical excuse marijuana, even while there has been no acceptance or approval of smoked marijuana by any major American medical association. "The legalization movement has suffered a major setback with the Canadian court decision. However, we are very concerned over the proposed bill by Prime Minister Martin that would soften penalties for pot possession," says Calvina Fay, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. "Canada's proposed decriminalization, as well as the legalization movement's desensitization of marijuana use, creates the illusion that marijuana is not harmful." A Schedule I drug with addictive tendencies cannot be considered harmless. According to Dr. Eric Voth, chair of the Institute on Global Drug Policy, a brain trust of the world's leading experts in drug prevention, "Softening drug policy increases drug use and the associated harm to society." History has shown us that when the perception of the harms of drugs increased, drug use went down, and when the perception of the harms of drug use decreased, use rose. Hopefully, Prime Minister Martin and other Canadian policy makers will apply this same logic. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Marc Paquette on December 24, 2003 at 09:39:14 PT: Sorry Mr Walters & Mr Bush Hi my Friends,Sorry Mr Walters and Bush, but Canada and it's "freedoms" are just not for sale! Mr Martin will find out in the next elections!Merry Christmas everyone :o)Marc http://www.medpot.net [ Post Comment ] Post Comment