cannabisnews.com: Conservative US Braced for Drugs and The Suburbs Conservative US Braced for Drugs and The Suburbs Posted by CN Staff on August 08, 2005 at 20:04:48 PT By Dan Glaister in Los Angeles Source: Guardian Unlimited United Kingdom -- A smartly-dressed young mother, the head of the healthy children's committee, stands before the parent-teacher association to demand that fizzy drinks be removed from the school vending machines. Moments later she is negotiating a deal to buy a large quantity of marijuana to sell to teenagers and their parents.Welcome to Weeds, the latest sitcom to delve into the dark side of American suburbia. But where Desperate Housewives deals with the fantasy of life and death in a gated community, Weeds, set in the fictional Californian town of Agrestic, sticks closer to the real world - and is likely to make conservative America seethe.The main character is Nancy Botwin, whose husband dropped dead while out jogging with their eight-year-old son. To keep herself in the manner to which she has become accustomed Nancy turns to one of the oldest professions in the world: drug dealing.Weeds, which premiered in the US on the cable channel Showtime at the weekend and will be the centrepiece of Sky One's autumn season here, is the brainchild of Jenji Kohan."I pitched it as suburban widow, pot-dealing mom," she told critics in Los Angeles. For the writer, who has worked on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Friends, and Sex and the City, it was an opportunity to deal with "grey areas, because I had been working in black and white for so long".While Weeds obeys the conventions of the US sitcom, it is far edgier than the complacent high-gloss universe of Desperate Housewives. The tone is set with the opening credits, as suburban stereotypes go about their daily business - jogging, getting a latte, driving the SUV - to the strains of veteran folk singer Malvina Reynolds's tribute to suburban dystopia, Little Boxes."I just thought it was kind of unapologetically dark and the morality of it was skewed from the beginning, so you can't necessarily make judgments on the characters," said Mary-Louise Parker, who plays Nancy.The show's title has already brought it to the attention of the cultural watchdogs. Noting that Weeds was one of several mainstream programmes to feature marijuana, Steve Dnistrian of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America told USA Today: "These are trendsetting shows ... When glamourisation of drugs has climbed, changes in teen attitudes followed."But it is the banality and pervasiveness of marijuana smoking as depicted in Weeds that will surely cause conservative America the most headaches.James Baker, controller of Sky One, suspects that Weeds is closer to the truth, and closer to home, than we may acknowledge. To accompany the programme, Sky is broadcasting a documentary on what it terms "marijuana mums" titled Stoned in Suburbia.Weeds, he says, "feels like a pretty accurate satire on sterile suburban life, the shiny surface and the interesting things going on below."Marijuana is essentially decriminalised here. It will be interesting to see how people will pick up on it."Although Kohan was given a free hand by the production company, Lions Gate TV, there was one taboo she could not break. "There was an earlier version where I had Shane shooting a cat, and that was the one thing. Someone said, 'You can't kill a cat."Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Dan Glaister in Los AngelesPublished: Tuesday August 9, 2005Copyright: 2005 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Site:Showtime's Weedshttp://www.sho.com/site/weeds/Some Wish TV Show Would Go Up in Smoke http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21021.shtmlSome Words About 'Weeds' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21020.shtmlMom Brakes for Drug Dealshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21017.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #34 posted by FoM on August 10, 2005 at 20:06:48 PT LA Weekly - Weeds Brave new series Weeds and Slings & Arrows break into Showtime and Sundance lineups By Robert AbeleAugust 12 - 18, 2005 For a show with pot dealing as its engine, the new Showtime half-hour comedy Weeds doesn’t draw its laughs from glazed, giggly tokers and sanded-off conversational excursions. Those flamboyantly lovable puffers Cheech and Chong would appear completely out of place in a walk-on, because the setting for this pointedly witty show is a whitey-white California McMansion enclave called Agrestic, where the prevalence of ganja is nothing compared to the simmering resentments, hidden disgraces and numbing melancholia of its overprivileged residents.Drug-dealer roles are one of those movie-and-TV staples that can be an ugly temptation for struggling performers, usually of color, who don’t so much get hooked on them as tarred with them. What Weeds creator Jenji Kohan smartly does is reform the role, casting stringy, heady New York stage actress Mary-Louise Parker as a widowed mother of two boys who makes ends meet — or, more honestly, keeps up an exterior of manicured financial stability in her moneyed, security-patrolled village — by helping others get their smoke on.It’s a mildly twisted take on female independence, but in a country that still finds the topic of breadwinner women worthy of debate, Weeds gets credit for exploring the issue of women making their way in business, even if that business sparks controversies all its own. And while the show is obviously pro-cannabis, last Sunday’s pilot episode — which will re-air Friday night at 10 p.m. — took pains to show Nancy Botwin (Parker) as resolutely against selling to teens, and then took further pains to have a rival dealer with a preteen clientele, who is the son of a genial city councilman/CPA played with smiley authority by Kevin Nealon, suitably call her a hypocrite. In fact, the final word on the show’s stance on drug glorification was laid out in the same episode, when Nancy is hanging out in the home of her inner-city supplier, a heavyset, middle-aged African-American matriarch named Heylia (the masterful Tonye Patano), who sits at a kitchen table bagging weed with her grown children with the same domestic nonchalance with which she preps dinner. Nancy, for whom Heylia’s home is a refuge of sorts, casually tries to pull off a street-style boast by calling herself “the biggest game in the private community of Agrestic.” Heylia, the show’s real queenpin and a tough-talking reminder that everyone’s problems are relative, affectionately zings back, “Drugs sell themselves, biscuit. You ain’t shit.”Moralizing isn’t what Weeds traffics in, anyway. The series is about a double life, but not in the conceit of an upstanding mom who’s also your friendly neighborhood connection, but of someone who both loves and hates the tranquilizing trappings of her clean-cut world. Think Desperate Housewives as re-imagined by Election satirists Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, and you get something of the show’s sensibility: The humor is raunchy but deadpan, the hurt is real but unsentimental, and everyone is not what they seem, not because they’re characters in a soap opera, but because they have images to uphold.Nancy may be coping with money issues, delayed grief, a sex-addled 15-year-old (Hunter Parrish) and a sweet-minded 8-year-old (Alexander Gould) whose own bereavement leads him into nutty scrapes, but it’s Nancy’s best friend/neighbor, Celia, who probably most needs some stoned-alone time despite her just-say-fuck-off stance regarding drugs. Elizabeth Perkins, a gifted actress whose repertoire is studded with the bitter and unhappy, plays Celia like the Wisteria Lane resident too caustic and depressing for prime time, an all-appearances materialist with a vengeful streak — swapping out chocolate for Ex-Lax to speed up one daughter’s weight loss, shipping off the other daughter to boarding school for having sex — but also a strange poignancy: She’s a gossipmonger who actually hates secrets.Together with Parker’s odd brand of brainy sex appeal — bedroom-growl delivery, conspiratorial glances and a kind of ex-hippie fragility — these two are like a suburban comedy team when they start cynically musing about their lot in life, a Lucy and Ethel too fried to be frazzled.Inevitably, what Nancy and Celia fear is not being able to protect their children from the big bad world, but as Weeds makes perfectly and sometimes hilariously clear over the five episodes available for review, you can’t stop kids from growing up any more than you can stop adults from acting like children. You also can’t stop a pay-cable channel from indulging its ability to air politically incorrect material, and Weeds has plenty, tackling religion, prejudice and frank sexual talk with a welcome comic fearlessness, making the core story of a blooming marijuana business seem as incidental as organized crime did when compared with Tony Soprano’s mother issues. (And after laboring in HBO’s shadow for years with barely fizzy programming, Showtime finally has an original series to be proud of.)Getting baked isn’t surprising anymore, anyway. Or, at least, self-medicating isn’t. The shock is how we ever get to feeling that we belong anywhere in the world, with so many things we’re made to feel shame for — our bodies, our financial health, our sexual predilections, our social attitudes — ready to do us in. The brilliant ironic touch that makes Weeds one of the smartest American comedies to come along in years is that by selling pot, Nancy Botwin, who once had it all, truly has become a member of her cliquish, clannish community — she finally has a dirty little secret. Complete Article: http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/38/tv-abele.php [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by FoM on August 10, 2005 at 15:03:25 PT Toker00 Thank you for the information. I'm not sure why you are happy about US seed sales but I really am not into that so I don't need for you to explain. I believe the big non profit organizations get money from individuals or the Soros people for a lack of knowing what to call it. That's who I believe funds the majority of organizations but I don't know for sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by Toker00 on August 10, 2005 at 14:58:05 PT FoM Maybe this one will help.http://libdem.meetup.com/boards/It's a message board, doesn't look very active but may help explain who they are. I'll look for more sites.Peace. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by Toker00 on August 10, 2005 at 14:43:23 PT OOps. Makes 'em look like sell-outs, huh? LOL Sorry FoM. That wasn't a site at all. I'll read more before I post a link next time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by Toker00 on August 10, 2005 at 14:37:27 PT FoM Here ya go FoM. http://www.seeq.com/lander.jsp?referrer=&domain=liberaldemocrats.org&cm_mmc=I think I see what you mean about Emery. You were not familiar with him and now he is a suddenly a big player in the war on Cannabis, and has caused a lot of upset in our movement? He was a very large behind the scenes player for Cannabis reform. Larger than we may know. We'll see how our legalize organizations fare, financially. We may need to give even more than we do. But being flambouyant doesn't always pay off. He should not have sold his seeds to the u.s. market, but, and this sounds weird, thank God he did.Oh yeah, I don't have a political affilliation with the dems, just a curiosity. See what you think.Let's disband the DEA and the ONDCP. Yes we can. WON'T BACK DOWN! END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by FoM on August 10, 2005 at 11:59:54 PT Toker00 Is there a web site for the Liberal Democrats? I'd like to read up more about them. That sounds more like how I think. Thanks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by FoM on August 10, 2005 at 09:43:47 PT Toker00 Thank you. I am stressed. I am having so much fun with the construction going on. We are taking out our one wall and it will open into a big 14 by 24 foot sunken living room. Not to mention all the siding and windows. We are having stone facing put up too. We built our home many years ago and that was very hard to live in and build at the same time. This time we have a really good crew doing the hard work so it is more fun.The stress is because of what is going on in Canada more then anything. I am not a follower of Emery and have avoided his web site all these years so to be associated with it now totally causes me frustration and anger. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by Toker00 on August 10, 2005 at 09:31:21 PT afterburner ""I am appealing to the cannabis community for solidarity. I realize that this is "like herding cats." However, I am exhorting the caring to stand together against the mighty forces, which are armed with cruel hate and swollen with ill-gotten gains, arrayed against us.""Jury nulification for Cannabis offenses. Just like they did for alcohol offenses to end alcohol prohibition. Protests. Just like they did to end alcohol prohibition. Organize, protest, demonstrate, agitate, litigate, educate. JUST LIKE THEY DID TO END ALCOHOL PROHIBITION.FoM, I really haven't seen you this (hopeless?) before. It's got to be temporary. Construction stress while living in the house can be pretty heavy. On top of all else that concerns you. You'll enjoy it when it's done.I have some really nice protest signs coming along. Some for the Anti-Iraq war protest in Sept. and some seriously anti-cannabis prohibition ones for the Stop the Drug War protest, coming soon. I've been attending organizing committee meetings, including Norml, Liberal Democrats, and others. It seems that most these organizations are waiting for someone else to take the lead, and they will follow. Our group has no problem with that. WE WILL LEAD. WON'T BACK DOWN! END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by afterburner on August 10, 2005 at 08:38:03 PT Hope, What Is a Closet Prohibitionist? Many read here: arch-prohibitionists, the faithful, the curious.The Arch-prohibitionists, like Randy White of Canada or John Walters make no bones about their opposition to all things cannabis, quoting the same tired mis-logic and disproven anecdotes. However, some well-intentioned activists may get lost in the details and fail to see the big picture. "The government is not going to give you freedom, you must demand it." --David Malmo-Levine. Divide and conquer is the most effective weapon against us that the government has at their disposal. "We must hang together or we will all hang separately," Benjamin Franklin said. If we are too timid in our advocacy, we play into the hands of the arch-prohibitionists and they will find us easy to cast aside with each new storm-trooper action.In a State, like California, the US Federal Judiciary refuses to allow Free Speech regarding Medical Cannabis, but paints all cannabis people as users, dealers and grow-op cultivators. Jury nullification has been championed as a solution. If they won't allow all the facts, then we won't convict. If this means some truly guilty, sleazy operators are set free, that is the cost of the federal government's pugnacious, unscientific, and cruel War on Cannabis. A closet prohibitionist is mystified by the federal government's gobbledegook and is reluctant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers and sisters in the cause.I am appealing to the cannabis community for solidarity. I realize that this is "like herding cats." However, I am exhorting the caring to stand together against the mighty forces, which are armed with cruel hate and swollen with ill-gotten gains, arrayed against us. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Hope on August 10, 2005 at 07:39:05 PT Afterburner... "Ask yourself: Am I a closet prohibitionist?"What in the world do you mean? [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by ekim on August 10, 2005 at 05:05:58 PT poll this webpage http://www.heraldpalladium.com/ on the right about half way down: "Online Survey A former policeman is riding his horse across the country on a campaign to end the drug war and treat drug abuse as a medical issue, not a legal one. Is he on the right track Yes No"yes-215 64%-------no 122-- 36% http:www.leap.cc/howard [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by afterburner on August 10, 2005 at 05:03:39 PT RE Comment #10: Pot-TV Is Not Gone Yet "Beating a dead horse now since POT-TV is already gone ... hopefully it comes back and/or someone else can host the videos soon."I just watched the following Pot-TV show: SMOKE OUT AT THE USA CONSULATE IN VANSTERDAM! Sept 10th http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse3889.ram The show page also works (at least in Canada) http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3889.htmlFor a partial listing of philanthropic donations (disingenuously referred to as 'money laundering' by the DEA) to the cannabis movement by Marc Emery read: DEA grows pot by Ray Boyd (08 Aug, 2005) Seeds from Marc Emery allegedly grew government weed http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4477.htmlAsk yourself: Am I a closet prohibitionist? [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by ekim on August 09, 2005 at 19:44:59 PT Howards cross country horse ride Note: As I send this there is on this webpage http://www.heraldpalladium.com/ on the right about half way down:"Online Survey A former policeman is riding his horse across the country on a campaign to end the drug war and treat drug abuse as a medical issue, not a legal one. Is he on the right track Yes No"Newshawk: Suzanne Wills Pubdate: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 Source: Herald-Palladium, The (MI) Copyright: 2005 The Herald-Palladium Contact: letters heraldpalladium.com Website: http://www.heraldpalladium.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1378 Author: Scott Aiken, H-P Staff Writer Photo: HOWARD WOOLDRIDGE, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, stops to talk to media as he continues his cross-country horseback ride along Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman on Monday. The former Lansing-area police officer says the so-called "war on drugs" has been wasteful and inhumane. (Don Campbell / H-P staff) http://www.mapinc.org/images/wooldridge.jpg Note: Read about Howard's historic journey at http://leap.cc/howard/index.html Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://www.leap.cc Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/WooldridgeA DIFFERENT VIEW FROM ON HIS HORSEBRIDGMAN -- Howard Wooldridge is on a long ride across the country to talk about ending a drug war that costs Americans $70 billion a year.On horseback six days a week since March, the former Lansing-area policeman is trying to win converts to the idea that prohibition has failed and drugs should be legalized. Wooldridge claims that America's 35-year anti-drug effort has brought terror to inner cities, diverted police from more serious business, clogged the courts and prisons and ruined families.But the problem shows no sign of going away."And as you know drugs are cheaper, stronger and more readily available today," said Wooldridge, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. The organization was formed in 2002 to change drug policy. Members include former police officers, probation officers and others who worked in law enforcement.LEAP wants to end drug prohibition laws enacted since the Nixon administration and replace them with policies that make drug abuse a medical issue. The organization contends that legalizing and regulating drugs is a more humane approach, and by taking those steps the government would knock out major criminal organizations and eliminate one of terrorism's major funding sources.Wooldridge is riding from Los Angeles to New York, a 3,300-mile trek he hopes to complete in October. He covers 25 to 30 miles a day and is accompanied by a recreational vehicle pulling a trailer and back-up horse.He made a trip in 2003 from Georgia to Oregon on a different horse without a support vehicle.In the 90-degree heat Monday afternoon, the lanky 53-year-old Wooldridge dismounted along Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman to rest for a few minutes and allow his horse, Sam, to nibble the grass.Curious passersby stopped to ask questions after seeing the horseman wearing a cowboy hat and a T-shirt bearing the message, "Cops say legalize drugs -- ask me why."Some people disagreed, but others wanted to know more about LEAP and why a long list of ex-police officers believe drug policies must change."That's the way it goes," said Wooldridge, who lives in Ft. Worth, Texas. "People come out of the woodwork."Wooldridge worked as a patrol officer and detective for 18 years in DeWitt and Bath townships in Clinton County. He became known as "Highway Howie" for his strict enforcement of drunken driving laws.But from the start he believed that enforcement priorities were wrong, with police spending time searching cars for marijuana when more serious crimes needed attention.His wife transferred to the Dallas area in 1994, and Wooldridge took an early retirement from police work and joined her.He later got involved in the effort to lift drug prohibition, worked as a lobbyist in Texas, and plans to work for LEAP in that role in Washington, D.C.Wooldridge said about 10 illegal drugs -- among them marijuana, cocaine and heroin -- net billions of dollars for drug gangs, but also for terrorist organizations. For 11 years production of illegal drugs has been the top source of funding for terrorist organizations, Wooldridge said.Remove it, he said, "and all those Third World thugs are cut off at the knees."Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey, asked for comment Monday afternoon, said he does not agree with legalizing any drug unless through a doctor's prescription."I think we keep fighting it and we educate people," Bailey said.The sheriff's department's Narcotics Unit is supported by a property tax, but the millage also pays for education programs and treatment."I think we've made improvements in our hardest-hit area, Benton Harbor," Bailey said.According to LEAP, more than 2.2 million Americans are in jail or prison. Each year 1.6 million people are arrested for nonviolent drug offenses, more per capita than any other nation.He said increasingly punitive drug laws have not steered people from taking drugs, something only education and a strong sense of personal responsibility can do."You can't get rid of drugs. But you can get rid of the black market and the illegal drug trade," he said.Despite the billions of dollars spent on enforcement, drugs are readily available in every part of the country, Wooldridge said.While in a small town in Wisconsin recently, Wooldridge discussed drugs with a 14-year-old girl and her parents. The parents were surprised to hear from their daughter that she knew how to get heroin within an hour.That does not mean the girl was using heroin, Wooldridge said, because she had the "good sense" to avoid the drug."At the end of the day you have to rely on personal responsibility and education," Wooldridge said.The illegal status of drugs is at the heart of the assaults, thefts and other crime that goes with the trade, Wooldridge added.When the United States repealed Prohibition in 1933, the national murder rate fell sharply to where had it been before Prohibition began in 1919.The federal government is taking an ever-greater role in the drug war, and laws are becoming more Draconian, he said.A pending bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., would make it a felony for a person who witnesses certain types of drug activity to fail to report it to police within 24 hours.The bill claims to intend to protect children from drug trafficking, but is in reality "a national snitch bill," Wooldridge said.He speaks to dozens of community organizations and said the reception he gets these days is quite different than when he got involved in the effort eight years ago."At first people thought I was a lunatic," he said. "But over the past three years, I don't know what happened, but people started thinking, 'Maybe I'll listen to him a little bit.'"At least some form of drug legalization, with programs for addicts managed by the government, has been adopted in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and England. http://www.leap.cc/events [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by afterburner on August 09, 2005 at 18:39:12 PT Hemp Is the Future Hemp is the future. Hemp is food. Hemp is fibre. Hemp is fuel. Cannabis hemp is medicine. I embrace the growing future, sprung from the seeds of invention. As the dominant and dominator economy is down-sizing, down-winding and down-pressing; the creative culture, following the live your dreams, walk out your dreams, to find the truth economic philosophy, is up-sizing, up-winding and up-lifting.Be at peace children. The creative hand of the Creator is guiding the creative hand of the cannabis citizens. We are bringing the hidden volcano-iceberg to the surface. We are bringing the commodity of cannabis into the marketplace like the lettuce and tomatoes, free from repression. Time is dilated. Regulation has started. Recognition has started. Soon regulation will be the preferred method of government-citizen interaction. Hitch your wagon to a start. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by global_warming on August 09, 2005 at 14:35:51 PT Number 16 "We American cannabists, here at CNEWS, know we suffer from a corrupt government. Raich/Monson was just one more proof of how endemic that corruption is; the Justices who voted against were more worried about the effect a favorable ruling would be *for the government* than they were about the welfare of the citizens involved. A favorable ruling would have ripped apart the fabric of government as it presently stands because of all the unConstitutional but *institutionalized* practices that have occured since *Wickard*. That government simply cannot stand (or afford) to have its' citizens make a side-by-side line up with those liberties a Canadian enjoys as opposed to the ones it so loudly champions but denies to it's own citizens."It is such a pity, that these Supremes abdicated their civic responsibility, revealed their lack of statesmanship, and cowered down to their disgrace. Whether through ignorance, blackmail and other disgraceful behaviors, they have lost sight of the American Experiment.Be assured, that their cowardly behavior, will come back, to bite them in the ass, along with their children. The legacy they leave for the rest of this planet, will surely resolve into a great bitterness.These Fools, hiding behind Black Robes, are merely fragile puppets, that easily crumble, before the Foot of Ignorance, before the Foot of Greed.I am grateful that I do not have to endure their experience, for the portals leading into the unknown, are guarded by very careful guards, and no one will pass through that eye of the needle. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by FoM on August 09, 2005 at 13:37:52 PT EJ, I Honestly Don't Know I know what I have read and I think this is way bigger then we are aware of. As days go by we will learn more and then maybe I will be able to understand how it might go. It's still all unraveling as far as the way I see it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2005 at 12:58:31 PT FoM I think Marc's problem helps our case Health Canada told patients they could legally growtheir own pot, Health canada gave them a number of plants they were allowed to grow, and advised them to buy their own seeds from the several known Canadian seed sellers, including Marc's operation.American Democrats who support the MMJ cause are faced with the same quandary. They want us to be able to grow pot for ourselves until something better becomes available -- but to grow a plant, you need a seed.Even modern university-educated liberals know that.So the political argument would be -- patients were FORCED to turn to Emery, because the federal law keeps MMJ patients in a legally grey area and inhibits them from breeding quality controlled medically effective strains on their own.That's the honest truth. We exist in a grey area. We can grow a few plants but how do we get the seeds?Cloning operations are now rowned upon by communities, so that only leaves us the option of finding quality seeds. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on August 09, 2005 at 10:18:05 PT Kaptinemo I have never paid any attention to Emery. I don't know what to say but I'm sorry it happened but I am surprised he wasn't stopped long ago. I didn't know he sold seeds to people in the states and I couldn't believe he would but as I said I don't pay attention to him. We were making progress but now even all the democrats that voted for mmj probably will be turned off. It's very sad. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on August 09, 2005 at 10:11:50 PT: FoM, I'm not bummed out...here's why The antis have been very successful in keeping the lids on a very large number of kettles that have been set to boiling for a very long time...but they can't anymore.The Emery Incident is just one of a number of things which threaten to blow some of those lids clean off. Partly because of the very unique nature of the circumstances.As Richard Cowan used to note, "Canada is too white to invade and too close to ignore." Unlike the myriad of nations the US interferes with around the planet, Canadians are *almost* a mirror image of the US.(You'll note, I said 'almost'. Most Americans, with the exception of those in the border States, haven't been there. Because of this, they have a lot of misconceptions about our neighbors to the North. And as a result, the subtle but *marked* differences wouldn't be readily apparent. But they exist. And they exist largely in the social context. And that social context is actually more along the lines of 'live and let live' than the US *says* it lives by.)So...here are these people who look mainly like us (predominantly Caucasian as the US is), speak a slightly different version of English almost indistinguishable from our own, drive the same cars we do, largely eat ther same foods, etc...but they have engaged in such social experiments as gay marriage and are considering (gasp!) cannabis decriminalization. (BTW, I think the Canadian Parliament needs to rework that one, as its' proscriptions against growing and its' fine scheme suck.)This is singularly jarring to the mindset that has been inculcated in Americans by their government. Remember, I said the Canadians practice in reality what the US preaches but fails to deliver on. The dichotomy is glaringly obvious. What's worse for the forces of tyranny busily at work at stripping us of our liberties in the name of 'protecting us' is that they are so much like us. Yet they are undeniably more free than we are. That comparison eats at those who would boast of American 'freedom' - because they are forced to make that comparison, too.We American cannabists, here at CNEWS, know we suffer from a corrupt government. Raich/Monson was just one more proof of how endemic that corruption is; the Justices who voted against were more worried about the effect a favorable ruling would be *for the government* than they were about the welfare of the citizens involved. A favorable ruling would have ripped apart the fabric of government as it presently stands because of all the unConstitutional but *institutionalized* practices that have occured since *Wickard*. That government simply cannot stand (or afford) to have its' citizens make a side-by-side line up with those liberties a Canadian enjoys as opposed to the ones it so loudly champions but denies to it's own citizens.IMHO, *this* is why we have seen practically nothing in the US media about Mr. Emery; to call attention to him and his David and Goliath battle with the morally corrupt forces on Uncle's side is to be forced to look at the root core of the problem itself: prohibition. Which can only result in a distinct defict of freedom...as it HAS. The corp-rat masters of the media and their powerful allies in Congress and the Executive Branch know that. That's why this INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT is being ignored so assiduously. But the lid on this particular kettle has been blown off. The die is cast. Barring any curiously convenient Wellstone-type 'accidents', Mr. Emery may do more by his efforts in furthering cannabis culture by fighting extradition to the US than any of his previous efforts ever could. Because in doing so, he'll cause a spotlight to be shown on US drug war practices. And, like cockroaches, the antis really hate that kind of attention, and do their best to scuttle back to the shadows. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on August 09, 2005 at 09:05:23 PT MPP, NORML and DPA I guess since the issue in Canada has bummed out some people we will need to wait and see what the organizations that have been working for change in D.C. have to say about the future of reform here in the states. I am really worried that we have been set back many years because of this. I hope I'm wrong but those are my feelings and I thought I should mention them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on August 09, 2005 at 08:27:31 PT afterburner I find myself withdrawing from news more and more. I remember years ago before the Internet that I didn't watch the news. I was able to live and not be stressed out. I think many Americans are tuning out because we have no control over what the powers that be do. All we can do is try to find peace and life for ourselves. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by afterburner on August 09, 2005 at 08:09:23 PT I Shed a Tear for the USA The Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave, and the land of the American Dream has become the land of Political Fantasy, the land of Legislative Chicanery, and the land of Meat-Locker Justice. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Dankhank on August 09, 2005 at 08:00:27 PT pot-tv just checked, it'a not there .... [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on August 09, 2005 at 07:43:44 PT Ron I just checked and it is still up. I didn't click on anything but the front page showed up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Ron Bennett on August 09, 2005 at 07:27:17 PT Saving Video Files ... Net Transport is a good program - I too have used it occasionally. While such a program may do the trick for saving some types/formats of video files, POT-TV should allow folks to save the entire files to begin with...I brought up this topic, because if POT-TV allowed video files (not merely the link) to be saved, many visitors would be able to view the videos right now instead of nothing at all ... as of now, it's likely many of the videos POT-TV had hosted will never be seen again; some folks who thought they had saved copies on their computer will be surprised when they discover all they saved is a link that's now broken.Beating a dead horse now since POT-TV is already gone ... hopefully it comes back and/or someone else can host the videos soon.Ron [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on August 09, 2005 at 04:53:42 PT: OT, but definitely worth it It's a NYT article, so go there quick before they archive it and you have to endure pesky sign ups:Debunking the Drug War By JOHN TIERNEY http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/09tierney.html?He says it straight up: the problems of the drug war are CAUSED by the drug war. Although his comments are largely aimed at the current hysteria about meth, he makes it plain that drug prohibition in general is to blame.Many thanks to Libby of LastOneSpeaks http://lastonespeaks.blogspot.com/ for the head's up. I visit there every day as part of my 'rounds' to check on news, reform-wise. This is why. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on August 09, 2005 at 04:39:55 PT: OT: A whacking good article at AlterNet Bad Medicine? by Scott Thill "Cannabis is proven to be a fairly harmless drug -- so why is the American right still waging a massive war on weed?" http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/23806/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by global_warming on August 09, 2005 at 03:28:58 PT re:6 There is a program called Net transport that allows for the saving of these streams. Caution, they can get very large.I tried it out with some c-span archives. Worked fine.http://www.xi-soft.com/default.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Ron Bennett on August 09, 2005 at 03:18:22 PT Shame POT-TV Doesn't Allow Copying of Videos It's a shame POT-TV doesn't allow the copying of videos - I've always thought it would have been cool if they were mirrored at other sites for better availability...Mirroring would greatly reduce the operating costs of POT-TV while they could still get the credit/traffic - if they are concerned about losing traffic, the mirroring could be done through in-line embedded dynamic links on POT-TV to the various mirror sites... on a related visitors should be able to save the videos for future reference, especially since POT-TV won't be around for ever; even if it is, the links to the various videos there are likely going to change/disappear eventually.In a nutshell, the inability of visitors to save videos on POT-TV has long been a pet-peave of mine ... their primative copy-protection (one can only save the link, not the actual file) is hurting both POT-TV and visitors alike.Ron [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on August 09, 2005 at 01:51:41 PT They Still Try To Play The Conservative Card Funny, I know several Conservatives who indulge in a little weed from time-to-time, albeit moderately. The marijuana haters want people to believe that conservatives are against marijuana and liberals are for it. What a crock o'crap. The headline should read, "Haters of the US Braced for Drugs and the Burbs." Drugs have been in the suburbs ever since there have been suburbs. They're in such denial about pot. Geez, what a mind job. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by cornoir on August 08, 2005 at 22:54:49 PT POT-TV POT-TV sight down due to the DEA witch hunt on Marc Emery, POT-TVs financial supporter. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 08, 2005 at 21:00:52 PT boballen1313 Isn't it working? I haven't watched it since the Kubbys were the hosts so I'm not sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by boballen1313 on August 08, 2005 at 20:56:16 PT: Any Word about POT-TV? POT-TV seems to be unavailable. Anyone have any follow up? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 08, 2005 at 20:09:32 PT Related Article: Q & A: Bong Story Short A show about getting stoned. But as Weeds writer Benabib tries to tell RADAR, he isn’t in it for the green stuff.By Susan CamposAugust 9, 2005Showtime’s new original series Weeds stars Mary-Louise Parker as your not so typical desperate housewife supporting two kids and her monthly Range Rover payment by peddling pot to her suburban neighbors. Everyone from a city councilman to the head of the PTA is copping in this twisted comedy, which shines a light on the dark side of the 818. Radar Online talked to the show’s co–executive producer, veteran TV writer Roberto Benabib about the Jean-George of L.A. pot bakers, the lameness of network TV, and his mostly sober staff. RADAR ONLINE: So, does everyone assume your entire office just sits around all day smoking pot?ROBERTO BENABIB: They assume we’re all stoners, but the truth is very few of us are. I never really learned how to inhale cigarette smoke, so smoking pot was out of the question. There are those on staff who do, though, and thank God for their expertise. It’s been reported that Mary-Louise Parker and other cast members had issues with the dialogue and wanted to cut some of the lines. What did they find so offensive? You’re referring to one of my episodes, in which Kevin Nealon’s character says, “The marijuana clinic is better than being in Amsterdam, because you don’t have to visit Anne Frank’s house and pretend to be all sad.” Mary-Louise Parker thought that was in incredibly poor taste. And our response was you’re absolutely right, but we love it, and let’s keep it. I’m Jewish and I thought it was funny. If you’ve never inhaled, where do you get your inspiration? I get this constant stream of confessional stories from friends. When they hear you’re working on a show about pot everyone wants to tell you about their dealers and pot bakers. I’ve heard there’s this famous gourmet pot baker in L.A. Do you know anything about him? There are actually quite a few, but there is one guy in L.A. in particular who is considered the Jean-George of pot bakers. Is it trendier now in L.A. to eat pot rather than smoke it? A lot of people who used to smoke are eating. It’s definitely better to get caught with a brownie than a bag of marijuana in your car. Plus there’s the sugar rush, and it spares your lungs. To keep up with the neighborhood competition, Mary-Louise Parker’s character becomes quite the baker in the third episode. Did you guys do any baking yourselves? We did research on bakers and these marijuana clinics in California where you can buy all sorts of baked goods. You just need a doctor’s prescription, and it’s pretty obvious people abuse it. A show like this would never get greenlighted on network television. Aside from the obvious, why is cable different?With cable they encourage a certain kind of freedom, because that’s what garners attention and press and gets people watching the show. It’s great to be in a position where freedom is the point of it all. That’s just not the case in network TV. When you first have a network meeting they’ll say we want something edgy and bold. But as the project gets more and more real they get frightened and it ends up completely bland. Besides pot, what’s the secret to being a successful TV writer in Hollywood? You have to be a salesman. You have to deal with the Willy Loman aspect of it. Pitch meetings go well or badly depending on the first sentence that comes out of your mouth, as soon as you say, “It’s set in…” At that point you realize you either violated some horrible in-house code that says we don’t do any more shows that take place in a dry cleaners…or you stumble onto the one network that’s desperately looking for a show that’s set in a dry cleaners. What’s the best part of network TV? The money. Period. What’s the best show on television? The Shield on FX. Worst show? Fox News. Would you ever do network TV again? Yes, I would. Amy Spindler, your late wife, was the style editor of the New York Times Magazine for 12 years. How do you compare fashion to TV? Fashion is much more fun. Let’s face it, television takes place in Burbank. Fashion takes place in Milan, Paris, London, and New York. Television tries to find out what everyone is thinking and doing at the moment and then exploit it, whereas fashion is trying to stay one step ahead. How would you compare the social scene in Hollywood to that of the fashion world? Aren’t fashionistas tough too? Sure, but it doesn’t seem so horrible when you’re in Paris, rather than, say, Sherman Oaks. It was great to be in a whole different world, and to travel in it at the level Amy did was amazing. She was the most important journalist in fashion. It was so different from hanging out with nerdy TV types. Are you saying Burbank isn’t glamorous? In its own way, possibly. I suppose to someone from Germany it is.http://www.radaronline.com/web-only/q-and-a/2005/08/bong-story-short.php [ Post Comment ] Post Comment