cannabisnews.com: Anti-Drug Advertising Effort Suffers 










  Anti-Drug Advertising Effort Suffers 

Posted by CN Staff on April 16, 2006 at 11:12:09 PT
By Ira Teinowitz  
Source: AdAge.com  

Washington, DC -- The white house's youth anti-drug advertising campaign is in jeopardy. The question isn't whether the eight-year-old push is effectively reducing drug use, though that is in some dispute. Rather, the issue is whether the campaign's declining media weight is falling dangerously below the level where it can be effective.
Declining Budget When it first launched nationally in 1999, the campaign's budget was $195 million annually, with about $150 million of the total devoted to advertising that was designed to reach 90% of teens four times of week. It's now down to $99 million annually, with the outlay actually much lower as media inflation eats up more of those dollars in print, broadcast and cable. And then there's the question of whether those traditional buys are even appropriate, given the teen target splintering with the myriad new-media choices. "It's time for Congress to wake up and support a program that is working," said the nation's drug czar, John Walters. "There is no excuse for not supporting it." Even some campaign doubters said the low funding level increasingly raises questions about accurately assessing the campaign's strategy. "I do worry about the fact that it's being slowly winnowed away," said John Carnevali, a drug office official during the Clinton administration who is now a consultant on drug policy. "If the program disappears, I'd like to see it be for a good reason, like it not working." Research and ProductionThe budget numbers are somewhat misleading. Created amid concerns that cutbacks for public-service ads were making those efforts less effective, the drug office campaign broke new ground by "matching" every free ad with a paid ad. But initially a chunk of the money didn't go to media, instead going to research and production costs. So the $99 million budget actually fuels nearly $160 million in ads. But that's still a long way from the $300 million in media time the campaign received in 1999. Susan Nathan, senior director of Media Knowledge at Universal McCann, said that to maintain the drug office's spending level from 1999 would require at least $500 million in funding today. The drug office claims the campaign still reaches teens between three or four times a week. But it's managed that by taking draconian steps. Not only are the Super Bowl spots it once ran gone, but the campaign has ceased running ads aimed at parents and reduced the number of messages aimed at minority groups. Moreover, the drug office started hoarding its ad time rather than give part of it over to other public-service groups for messages related to drug prevention-an agreement originally made to mollify public-service groups worried that their ads would get bounced by paid anti-drug ads. Assessing The ImpactBut Ms. Nathan said assessing the impact of the cuts is "a tough question to answer" without examining specific objectives. Mr. Walters, initially skeptical of the campaign, ordered up more pre-testing of creative and refocused it squarely on marijuana with the argument that it is the gateway to other drugs. Today, he strongly defends the campaign as adequately hitting the target audience-though barely-and is pushing hard to get the $120 million President Bush proposed in funding this year. Getting even that is anything but a certainty. Jennifer Hing, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., who heads a House appropriations panel that will consider the $120 million request, said money is going to be stretched thin this year. "It's going to be hard to prioritize the funding," she said. "The natural disaster [Katrina] has sucked up a lot of money and the congressman is going to take a serious look at every program on the table." Legislative RequirementsLegislation that passed the House this year would require 82% of money budgeted to be spent on media if less than $125 million is appropriated, though the House also added a new requirement that 10% of the spending go to anti-methamphetamine ads. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to act on those changes. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which produces the drug office spots (FCB is the drug office's agency) frets that $120 million is too little. Sean Clarkin, director-strategy, said the Partnership way back in the Clinton administration recommended $175 million a year in annual media spending to ensure the weight of anti-drug ads was roughly equivalent to the early '90s when media companies ran more PSAs. "It's working," said Mr. Clarkin. "We would like it to be funded at a higher level." He would like to see more efforts aimed at parents, a beefing up of multicultural campaigns and "being more present in lives of teens by being in more non-traditional media and trying to de-normalize drugs in the lives of kids in a way that seems like its coming from other kids." The funding concerns drown out some of the good news, which is that both government and private researchers indicate teen drug use is decreasing. 'Monitoring The Future' Study The government numbers come from the long-running "Monitoring the Future" study in which the University of Michigan surveys 8th, 10th and 12th graders' attitudes on drug use. That survey shows that the percentage of 10th graders using illicit drugs within the last 30 days has fallen off sharply, going from 23.2% in 1996 to 17.3% in 2005. The same measure for high-school seniors was at 36.2% in 1997, dropping to 23.1% last year. Marijuana was the biggest part of the drug use and its numbers were down too. The Partnership, which wasn't entirely happy about the focus on marijuana that the Bush administration brought and moved to make its own public service efforts on other drugs, now concedes it has worked. "It's no secret that we had reservations about [marijuana]. We pushed for a bigger repertoire," said Mr. Clarkin. "I have to say that the results appear to vindicate the focus on marijuana." Others question the measuring tool for success or whether the ad campaign has had much to do with any change. And some worry that kids using illegal drugs may just have moved on from marijuana to abuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications. Note: White House Campaign Might Not Carry Enough Media Weight to Work.Complete Title: White House Campaign Might Not Carry Enough Media Weight to WorkSource: AdAge.com (US)Author: Ira Teinowitz Published: April 16, 2006 Copyright: 2006 Crain Communications Inc. Contact: editor adage.comWebsite: http://www.adage.com/CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml

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Comment #63 posted by FoM on April 19, 2006 at 21:54:13 PT
afterburner
Yes you're right. I am amazed these days. I thought Neil answered the questions really well on CNN. I liked what he said about we all were hurt and are hurt by war and by what happened on 9/11. I am looking forward to the new album. I love Prairie Wind. It will always be special because of why it was written and it is just beautiful but Greendale is what got me fired up as an activist. Living with War is doing the same thing as Greendale did for me but because of it being and out an out assault on Bush it really makes me happy. I'm glad Neil is comfortable being so outspoken in this tough time we are living in now because of what Bush has done to our country with this insane invasion and occupation of Iraq. 
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Comment #62 posted by afterburner on April 19, 2006 at 21:44:20 PT
FoM -- Anti-Political Prophets of Unity
"One of the things I've learned that I wish I hadn't learned since doing CNews is about politics." --FoM #26 {FoM, Neil was on CNN Showbiz Tonight earlier for a short interview outside of Reprise Records (replay at 11 pm ET). He talked about the upcoming album and had to answer some stupid questions about being unpatriotic and Canadian. One of his responses was something like, "Red and blue is not black and white. We are all in this together." --mayan #1 It's Time To Call a Truce in America's Longest War
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21738.shtml } Neil has been called a prophet. Other "prophets" have voiced similar sentiments.One Foundation --Peter Tosh
http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/o/onefoundation.shtmlONE FOUNDATION
(Peter Tosh)Bob Marley & The Wailers"Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation."There will never be - yeah! - no love at all;
There will never be no love at all."Got to put aside them segregation, yeah!
Got to put aside them organization;
Got to put aside them denomination.
There will - there will never be no love at all;
I mean there will never be no love at all."(Got to build our love) So build our love
(on one foundation) On one foundation;
(Got to build our love) Come, let us build our love
(on one foundation) On one solid foundation.
(Got to build our love) Got to build our love
(on one) on one foundation (foundation),
Or there will never be a single drop of love;
you won't have no freedom now, yeah!"Got to come together
We are birds of a feather;
We got to come together
'Cause we are birds of a feather;
Got to come together
'Cause we are birds of a feather;
Or there will never be (Lord, have mercy!) no love at all -
There will never be - yeah, yeah! - no love at all."We also got to realize we are one people, yeah!
Got to realize that we are one people, yeah!
We got to realize we are one people,
Or there will never be no love at all -
There will never, never, never be no love at all."Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation;
Got to build our love on one foundation ... /fadeout/"One Love --Bob Marley
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob-marley/21725.html"One love! one heart!
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Hear the children cryin’ (one love!);
Hear the children cryin’ (one heart!),
Sayin’: give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel all right;
Sayin’: let’s get together and feel all right. wo wo-wo wo-wo!"Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (one love!);
There is one question I’d really love to ask (one heart!):
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs? "One love! what about the one heart? one heart!
What about - ? let’s get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning (one love!);
So shall it be in the end (one heart!),
All right!
Give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
One more thing!"Let’s get together to fight this holy armagiddyon (one love!),
So when the man comes there will be no, no doom (one song!).
Have pity on those whose chances grows t’inner;
There ain’t no hiding place from the father of creation."Sayin’: one love! what about the one heart? (one heart!)
What about the - ? let’s get together and feel all right.
I’m pleadin’ to mankind! (one love!);
Oh, lord! (one heart) wo-ooh!"Give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.""On April 22, 1978, Bob Marley brings the hands of Prime Minister Michael Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga together. This historic concert marked Marley's triumphant return from exile and ended Jamaica's most violent political rivalry."At the beginning of 1978 in Kingston, there were only two real topics of conversation: the increasing shortage of goods on sale in the island's stores, the consequence of Washington's efforts to bankrupt the Manley government; and the imminent return of Bob Marley to Jamaica, a hero coming back from his self-imposed exile following the attempt on his life in December 1976."
http://www.bobmarley.com/life/live/onelove/One foundation, one people! One love! one heart!
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Comment #61 posted by FoM on April 19, 2006 at 10:13:14 PT
Hope
I have been watching the weather and it sure is hot in the south for this early in the year it seems. I bet we have terrible hurricanes sine the gulf water is heating up fast again this year. It's beautiful and sunny and cool here today. The grass is growing fast but if we have a summer like last year it will be dry and terrible.
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Comment #60 posted by Hope on April 19, 2006 at 09:51:34 PT
Helicopters circling...
Counting the number of onion sets, tomatoes, and other bearing vegetables and fruit so that no tax penny goes ungathered.We gave our government too much and they only use what we gave them to suck more out of us.
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Comment #59 posted by Hope on April 19, 2006 at 09:47:28 PT
Ron Comment 23 Comment 28 and Ekim
Comment 23 Oh my gosh! My name is in there. Thanks, Ron.Comment 28  100 degree weather in Texas. Yes it has been. I fear it's going to be a hideously hot and dry summer. It's easier to stay warm than it is to stay cool. My sister has finally got plowing with the tractor down pat. But the dust and the heat already...it's rough. We should be able to start manufacturing our vegetables by the end of the week. Oh...I guess we are already in the process of "manufacturing". We've plowed and are designing a small irrigation system.It's a wonder the government doesn't send a tax man out to count and tax our yields. "You manufactured 203 tomatoes and 57 cantaloupes. That will be seven dollars and fifty two cents tax."And Ekim....thanks for all you do. You are a power house. Thank you.
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Comment #58 posted by ekim on April 18, 2006 at 19:14:42 PT
museman-- thank you for all you are doing
thank you for thinking about the kitchen and ol cookie:) 
its been almost nine years since i had the great joy of a rainbow.
it was 98 and Geoffrey Fieger was running for Governor of MI and i was caring his signs all over the state. i got wind of it up north and by luck had the chance to speak to the bonfire about Fieger and his statement that he was willing to look into the injustice of the drug war. to make a long story short Fieger did win the primary against a guy that had it sowed up. Fieger named a young woman Jenny Graholm his at general. guess what she said that she would not change the drug laws -- so comes the vote since Geoffrey was representing Dr. Kevorkian many were made at him i talked to a friend that said his church showed a video of DR Death and Geoffrey and were told not to vote for him, so AG Jenny got more votes than Geoffrey and we got 4 more of John Engler and more prisons and now we have Governor Jenny Gramholm running the show.
I am with rchander in asking that adds be run setting the record right. 
the gathering i was speaking of is a birthday for Woodstock at a farm. 
Well i have to say something nice about Gov Jenny -- she is lowering the mercury levels by 2o15 and is pushing for ethanol as the Meijer food chain is installing 20 E85 fuel pumps in the state.
now if she would start a Hemp growing program we would be doing better.
http://www.40mpg.org
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Comment #57 posted by ekim on April 18, 2006 at 18:37:42 PT
rechander Rich is calling those of which you speak
 Top Story: Richard Cowan to Introduce Kubby and Tuck at NORML Conference. Moving Beyond MarijuanaNews to “Making Democracy Work.” 
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2006-04-16 16:20:00 
Source: 
 
Posted April 16, 2006
By Richard Cowan Happy Easter! There is no better day for new beginnings.I am very pleased to report that next Friday morning I will be “introducing” my old friends, Steve Kubby and Steve Tuck at the annual NORML conference in San Francisco. Obviously, they will not need a lot of introduction to that group. (I will also be moderating a panel on international developments on Saturday afternoon.)
 http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/studies.htm
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy 
This page will contain full-text copies of the major studies of drugs and drug policy as they become available and as we have resources to scan them and put them on the web. Readers who wish to fund the addition of new research to the web should see How You Can Support the Schaffer Library.
http://www.marijuananews.com
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Comment #56 posted by rchandar on April 18, 2006 at 15:55:43 PT:
have you SEEN these ads?
Here's one: "Mom, Dad, parents...I hate you." And then the teenage girl goes into this vicious attack on how pot is "disgusting." How...dare...they...run this ad in a country that prides itself on the values of parents? This commercial was a shameful example of Nazi-style totalitarianism: the young must destroy the old. Eh, never mind that dope-smokin' Daddy gave me free room and shelter and sent me 2 college: IT'S THE DRUG WAR! I'M DOING MY DUTY AS A PATRIOTIC CITIZEN! I CAN REFORM THEM! Nothing, in this citizen's opinion, saved this advertisement from showing the government's contempt and disregard for the adult men and women who raise their families. Shameful, and that's all.Another commercial: "Hey, you're sister's hot." Picturing two 10-year old kids with a bong. Then he pulls out daddy's pistol, aims and mentions, "it's not loaded." I hate this kind of unresearched, ill-conceived and totally libelous manner of scolding parents for not raising their kids right. But kid paranoia is king in the household, there just HAS TO BE these manifold and intricate terrors if we great Americans are to be great. Because, the government would argue, we're great because the rest of the world is nowhere near as great and have all kinds of evil plans to destroy your greatness.Well. Government tactics in most civilizations has been to "divide and conquer"; we apparently weren't as much like that only 100-150 years ago, but we sure are now. Stop and think, in a day, how many people we had to square off against, hate, curse at, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, just to get through the day. As if these weren't people, in less stereotypical occurrences, whom you couldn't have a good conversation with and learn something from. You're divide and conquer. They don't want us to know each other.Every time I see an anti-drug ad on TV, I can tell pretty quick that that's what it is. Then I change the channel. People work hard to earn time to be with friends, family. And I don't give a #$%^ what the government has to tell me on my time, screw 'em. What we've got to do is strike back--pro marijuana advertising. We just haven't done that yet, and it's time we donated centrally for a major, multimillion-dollar campaign in several areas, perhaps continually. We've got to get Americans sitting at home to think: oh, so it's not the minority who think that. It's not only a few people who believe that. For the tens of millions of MJ smokers in America, very few of them actually believe in legalization. THAT has to change; we HAVE to become active or we're confirming all those BS stereotypes about being prey to big, scary, rich criminals.It has to start somewhere. Hundreds of billions of dollars are reaped annually. And peanuts are delivered to the broadcasting rooms where change could happen. And why? We're not censored, we can advocate change. That isn't true in a lot of the world, pro-pot parties or activism are not allowed. If it means something to you...--rchandar
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Comment #55 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2006 at 15:33:32 PT
Opps
"That is why has"Should read "That is why I have"
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Comment #54 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2006 at 15:30:38 PT
Whig
Freedom doesn't come cheap does it?That is why has great respect for the ones who came before me, to make a better place, not just for me, but also for all of us. There have been many unselfish people who did things so others wouldn't have to suffer.
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Comment #53 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 15:17:44 PT
Here's Another Related To Immigration Link
These are Canada' immigration requirements.http://www.immigration.ca/
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Comment #52 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 15:11:45 PT
Had Enough
How come these people can’t make conditions in their land betterI'm sure some try, but how much power do they have? In a corrupt system, if you challenge the state you wind up in prison or dead. Not to mention that it's hard to do much of anything when you're starving to death.And how come some of our own community can't make conditions in America better and instead go to Canada? Only to be deported, in some cases, and put in a cell here, like Steve Kubby.Okay, he tried to make things better here, and yes, he made a difference, but it wasn't enough to let him have his medicine, was it? At least he's out of prison now, but there are a lot of lower profile people that still languish in jails (like our friend Jerry).Should we say they have no right to depart and go to Canada or somewhere else if they want to and are able? They must suffer here?
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Comment #51 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 14:50:40 PT
A Population Growth Chart
I found this link interesting. US Historical Population Growth -- 1790 - 2050http://www.npg.org/popfacts.htm
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Comment #50 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2006 at 14:46:41 PT
Comment #47
Whig wrote:“If a certain number want to come to the United States from Mexico every year, the line will get longer every year. Let's say a million people per year want to come to the United States from Mexico, but the quota is five hundred thousand. The other five hundred thousand get in line. But in the second year, there are those five hundred thousand plus a million more who want to come in. If we take another half million, the next year there are two million waiting in line. And it will just keep growing until and unless people decide to ignore the line and just come across without permission.”How come these people can’t make conditions in their land better, instead of turning their back on their own people and run away to America? They leave behind a family to fend on their own, except for that American Dollar they send home.Didn’t a lot of American Companies close factories here, and built new ones in Mexico? How come they can’t stick together and get better wage and living conditions from these companies.
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Comment #49 posted by museman on April 18, 2006 at 14:34:05 PT
Max#33
"They come because there are no jobs in their own country? You know what, I can't get a suitable job in MY country! And I think a lot of that has to do with the people who have come streaming in here for the last couple decades because they can't find jobs at home. What do I have to do to fix this? Change things in my country."This is a legitimate concern (and I'm speaking from a humanist perspective, not a 'legal' perspective). However this 'symptom' is of a greater dis-ease. I am sure that if you really thought about it, did a little digging, considered the actual real sources of dis-everything on the earth at this time, you'd know what I mean. Poverty is a condition of imbalance with wealth. Simple and plain. The incredible inventions of mind that have spring up to justify this condition are just too many to discuss specificly. The issue of immigration may seem to be in the interests fo the people, like so many other acts of absolutely corrupted power, but even the so called 'compromises', the 'guest worker program' for example is all a slap in the face of the working class, and a mockery of poverty's despair.This issue is meant to splinter some of the rising ('liberal')political factions that are gaining power in the wake of recent political stupidity. ***And on a similar note:The current "concern" of GWB towards a potential 'bird flu' epidemic, has me wondering, considering all else that has been done, if a nice 'biblilcal' plague might not be ready in the wings should the people actually exercise their right to replace criminal government through impeachment, and other redress.Thinking folks should really be asking a lot of questions abnout ANYTHING this government is doing.
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Comment #48 posted by museman on April 18, 2006 at 13:47:08 PT
ekim-rainbow
The gathering will be in Colorado this year, near Granby the site of the 'first' Rainbow Peace Gathering in 1972.To say that the rainbow gathering is even close to the gathering that Woodstock was, or that the Rainbow these days is itself anything other than a 'New Age Institution' could only come from a lack of direct experience of the phenomenon known as "Rainbow Gatherings."I have stated both here and on my own site about the need for a 'new' kind of gathering, one with focus and purpose, one that can initiate discussion and change in our communities. I can state emphatically that the Rainbow is NOT IT.The information one can find, on the 'Rainbow' side is biased, and very much like 'wishful thinking' but aside from the contrived images of color, and 'spirituality', (after more than 30 years they know all the tricks of the trade) it is at it's best a place of simulated freedom (much much less than it was I assure you) where old friends can re-unite. On the other hand- the government classifies them as "quasi-militant" and has been surveiling the gatherings for decades. The fact that they still occur is testament to the Governments lack of concern for any potential activism in the Rainbow.The experience however is worth having, so don't let me disuade you.
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Comment #47 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 13:37:46 PT
runderwo
If you think about people as a "substance" where one molecule is interchangeable with another, the alcohol analogy might hold. But it isn't like that.If a certain number want to come to the United States from Mexico every year, the line will get longer every year. Let's say a million people per year want to come to the United States from Mexico, but the quota is five hundred thousand. The other five hundred thousand get in line. But in the second year, there are those five hundred thousand plus a million more who want to come in. If we take another half million, the next year there are two million waiting in line. And it will just keep growing until and unless people decide to ignore the line and just come across without permission.But those people who are in line, who have no reasonable chance of being given permission to move in years if ever, they are prohibited. Those people are prohibited humans.
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Comment #46 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2006 at 12:56:00 PT
Thoughts
My argument is not Schedule I or Schedule II humans, to me that is a sick thought. My argument is that there is a proper way to gain access to this land. And there is good reason for it.Also the blurring of the lines between Prohibition & Illegal Immigrants that is trying to take hold is the other part of my view. They are two separate issues.
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Comment #45 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 12:53:07 PT

Had Enough
I see basically the same way as you do. I believe in legal immigration. We even have illegal immigrants working in our area now. The young people can't even get a job anywhere. The illegals are getting the jobs and the young men that were raised in this local town are unemployed. Joining the Army is their only way to make any money at all which is beneficial to our war time government.
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Comment #44 posted by runderwo on April 18, 2006 at 12:45:56 PT

whig
I'm not so sure about your analogy. Humans would be a "controlled substance" if they were only allowed to come here for a specific, approved reason. That is in fact NOT the case. All that is being controlled is the rate of immigration. Like the liquor tax controls the rate of alcohol consumption. People can still freely come here but they can't come faster than we allow them to. This gives us time to adjust social infrastructure to compensate for the additional load.
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Comment #43 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 12:36:40 PT

Exploitation
Had Enough's point on this is a good one, by the way. The corporations want second-class immigrants, "guest workers" who won't have the same benefits as others, that will cost them less to hire, and drive down everyone else's wages. That's definitely not what I'm in favor of.How about this. We can end illegal immigration, and control the border, just by abolishing the immigration quotas. Everyone who comes to the border and isn't carrying weapons or some disease or whatever, they can come in as legal immigrants with full and equal rights to everyone else.
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Comment #42 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 12:30:57 PT

Had Enough
Security issues aside, your argument is that humans are Schedule II or something rather than being Schedule I. It's still prohibition. The quotas are set such that only a small fraction of the people that want to migrate are allowed to. As to the rest, they are prohibited.
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Comment #41 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 12:27:15 PT

FoM
You're right, and it's basically back to the problem of evil, which I think is pretty much the same as the problem of free will. We have to be able to choose the good freely or we aren't fully moral. That isn't to say that you can't defend yourself or your family or community from harm, but I believe it has to be proportionate to the threat and not excessive.In terms of criminals who threaten the public safety you may need to restrain their freedom, in other words, but only because they pose a real and present danger otherwise, but the object should be to limit the restraint because either you get the person to stop behaving badly or you can never safely release him. So that's how we should be focused, I believe.Other than that, though, people who aren't threatening anyone should never be prevented from having their liberty. That's really what this is about to me, I don't believe liberty ends at boundary lines. If I couldn't leave Pennsylvania without permission, if I couldn't enter California without waiting in line, I would be unhappy, but I could survive here. But it's not always the case that someone in Mexico can survive there.
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Comment #40 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2006 at 12:19:00 PT

Prohibition & Illegal Immigration
Prohibition & Illegal ImmigrationThese two are being tied together and the blurring of the lines is in progress. There are people in our society that have a hard time keeping them separate.Immigrants are “not prohibited” to enter the United States; there is a proper way to gain access to this land. Therefore “Immigrant/Human Prohibition” does not exist. Cannabis is “prohibited” by the United States Federal Government period. That is prohibition.The illegal immigrants are flowing across the border almost at will. How long will it be before one of these Illegal Immigrants brings something harmful across the border? I’m thinking disease, vegetation that could ruin farmland and livestock, or heaven forbid, a weapon capable of Mass Destruction.My feelings toward this have nothing to do with racism, war mongering hype, or anything like that. This is a very real possibility, that’s all.Another thing I look at. The president, half of Congress, and almost all of Corporate America want to give amnesty to Illegal immigrants. Illegal aliens need to be dealt with, in a proper manner, not amnesty. Guess who will get to pick the tab up for this amnesty.Illegal aliens will work for half the pay you and I work for, and will live in substandard living quarters. Before you know it, American born, and legal immigrants will have to meet similar terms, or end up not working. Is this trend staring to have an effect in your area yet?

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Comment #39 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 11:31:21 PT

Whig
I believe in freedom but I also know that some people don't value freedom. It's a delicate balance for me.
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Comment #38 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 11:06:52 PT

FoM
Let me be a little more specific about what I do believe.I believe in human freedom.All governments are evil. Some are worse than others, but none are good.One world government would be especially bad, because there would be no where to escape to a better one no matter how bad it got.When a government does away with the right to migrate, when you cannot escape from a worse place to a less bad one, it is indistinguishible from the problem of the one world government. No matter how bad it gets, you can't escape.
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Comment #37 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 10:58:31 PT

FoM
I believe in no "world order."
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 10:48:44 PT

Whig
I have a question for you. Do you believe in a One World Order? Thanks in advance.
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Comment #35 posted by whig on April 18, 2006 at 10:40:12 PT

Max
You're right that it's no fair, of course. But punishing people because their governments are bad isn't fair either. Maybe we might need to leave the US some day and try to find sanctuary in Canada or somewhere else. If they have the attitude you've expressed, they'd say it isn't fair for us to obtain sanctuary there unless the US would give them the same sanctuary. But this doesn't quite make sense because why would they try to come here where they'd have fewer rights than they already do. So it's not fair.And I have to remember that the United States wouldn't even allow people escaping Germany to come here. There was a really small quota. A lot of Jewish people couldn't find a place to escape to so they got killed. Some got to other places like Australia. The US not so much.It's not fair at all.But I still believe people shouldn't be blamed for their government, human prohibition is unjust and no matter whether you allow people to migrate or not they will do so when circumstances require them to. All this means is you have a lot of criminals involved in human trafficking and all kinds of bad things. Prohibition never works.
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on April 18, 2006 at 10:17:41 PT

Max Flowers 
I appreciate your comment. I believe in law and order but I also am liberal as to what should or shouldn't be against the law. If we didn't have any guidance in society because there was no one or nothing to make some form of order we would have a crazy and fearful world to live in. Here's how I look at the immigration issue.Say a husband and a wife had 3 children. They want the best for them and they work hard but are still very poor. The children ask for something and the parents say we can't afford it. It hurts the parents and the child but the child understands that mom and dad are doing their best.Now lets say that the parents announce to their biological children that they want to adopt a child from another country. What would the children think? Is it fair when the parents can't even support the 3 they have. That's how I see the immigration issue.
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Comment #33 posted by Max Flowers on April 18, 2006 at 10:00:47 PT

Illegal infiltration
I am generally very liberal-thinking, but with regard to illegal immigrants, my views turn suddenly "conservative." It's one of the only areas where my perspective is at odds with the popular liberal view. (Some of you may like me a little less after this post.)My attitude is simply that if I cannot go to other countries and do exactly the same as people do when they come here illegally, then they should not be able to do it here. Period. If I cannot just saunter into Mexico, or the Philippines, or Vietnam, or Honduras, or etc etc and just plop down and start living there under the radar, expecting to be able to take advantage of all the same services and protections that the legal indigenous residents of those countries do (and trust me, I would NOT be allowed to), then people from those countries and any others should not be allowed to do the same thing here. PERIOD. It is unfair and totally imbalanced. It might sound childish, but the way I see it, if I can't do it, they can't do it either (although they already have, and are). No fair. Game over.They come because there are no jobs in their own country? You know what, I can't get a suitable job in MY country! And I think a lot of that has to do with the people who have come streaming in here for the last couple decades because they can't find jobs at home. What do I have to do to fix this? Change things in my country. What should they have to do? The very same thing---not run here!!Legal immigration is a different matter entirely.
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Comment #32 posted by whig on April 17, 2006 at 19:02:24 PT

FoM
Runderwo was talking about immigrants from Mexico, I believe. Undocumented immigrants. They haven't been welcomed.
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 18:57:24 PT

Whig
Immigrants are welcome I believe. I know immigrants are welcome in Canada. They have to have a certain amount of money to invest to make Canada a better place and not be a burden to Canada. I think that is reasonable.
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Comment #30 posted by whig on April 17, 2006 at 18:47:42 PT

runderwo
Ethics and morality are a difficult subject that trouble philosophers no end. I may seem to be oversimplifying things but I think there are things that you and I would consider unethical or even immoral that should nonetheless be legal, such as adultery for instance. The penalty might be divorce, or at least a rather less happy marriage, but it isn't for outsiders to judge.On the issue of undocumented immigration, you raise an important point about people having to skirt other laws and obtain false identification, etc. But this point is much the same as that to be made about prohibited commerce. Anti's will always point to the criminal element without recognizing that it is the laws that cause them to be.I don't think we'd have these problems if immigrants were simply welcomed. Human prohibition has bad effects too.
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Comment #29 posted by runderwo on April 17, 2006 at 18:21:40 PT

whig
I am not certain at all that things that require discussion should be categorically legal. I do agree that if the discussion is about sending messages, it is probably a bogus law. But the world is not black and white, so determining whether a particular action within a particular context is moral or immoral is important. And this requires discussion because the degree of morality and the degree of immorality must be gauged and weighed against one another, and also whether it is practically possible to prohibit the activity. I disagree with the statement "anything that could cause harm to another should be illegal", but I also disagree with the statement that "a little bit of harm to another is OK". What about "a little bit of harm to another is OK as long as it prevents a greater degree of harm to a third"? Or "a little bit of harm to another is OK as long as a greater degree of harm to myself is prevented"? In the real world, we have to answer these questions.Something you may want to think about re: illegal immigration. Many of these illegal aliens are using false IDs in order to utilize services that taxpayers here have paid for, without making any tax contribution themselves. They are also using ID-less services such as police and fire protection. I may support open immigration, but I think sympathizing with those who free ride off the current system is not a good way to support a change in the system.
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 16:08:48 PT

global_warming
Thank you. I'm glad you understand what I mean.For our friends in Texas they are saying you are having rolling blackouts. I didn't know it was almost 100 degrees in Dallas right now. I didn't think it was that hot anywhere in the states yet this year except maybe Arizona.Here's an article.BREAKING NEWS: Heat Forces Rolling Power Blackouts: http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4780571
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Comment #27 posted by global_warming on April 17, 2006 at 15:34:20 PT

hi fomme
regards.."Politics control what people think", it might also be understood as "What people think is politics", this is the Table where 'we those people can bargain away our Eternal Souls, for some piece of Silver, and maybe a slice of that Everlasting Comfort.As I am a living witness, I testify, before the tribunal, and my vote, in this purist colony of pigs, if God does not come to strike the greedy and blasphemous, surely God has a better plan, and all the rhetoric and clever arguments, cannot ever convince this mortal flesh.Fomme You are the diamond in this group.
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 12:59:30 PT

afterburner
One of the things I've learned that I wish I hadn't learned since doing CNews is about politics. I never cared to learn about politics because I thought it was just politics and that meant not very good values to me. Now because I've seen different political parties values I really am more angry about the whole thing then I am understanding. Politics control what people think and do I believe and that seems so wrong and wasteful to me. That's just my feelings but I see a red flag most times when any party is mentioned as an answer to the ills of the world.
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Comment #25 posted by afterburner on April 17, 2006 at 12:44:20 PT

Conservative / Liberal
The divide in Parliament/Congress with a "left wing" and a "right wing" was a physical reality that lost its meaning due to the complexities of a modern society. I prefer former Governor of California Jerry Brown's analysis, "Left wing vs. right wing is an outdated dicotomy. I am an up-winger: the interests of industry and ecology come together in space." [best quote from memory] After all, we are on "spaceship earth" as Buckminster Fuller called it.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 12:16:34 PT

Ron
Thank you for the kinds words for me and everyone. I don't know how you and others can debate with those that oppose us. I never could argue a point very well. I just keep my thoughts to myself and keep going on and reading and learning more. 
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Comment #23 posted by ron on April 17, 2006 at 11:59:54 PT

Hi, FoM
Sorry if my point seemed obtuse, but whig did a good job of sharpening it.I've been debating antis on Bourque.com, Canada's equivalent of the Drudge Report, with a lively discussion forum. I'm still a regular scanner of your sparkling cannabis site.Kaptinemo's trenchant analyses, mayan's links and the comments by charmed quark, lombar, ekim, Had Enough, Max Flowers, afterburner, global warming, Dankhank, Hope, museman, dongenero and sooooo many others are all gem quality.You, FoM, are the diamond in the middle.Happy aftereaster all.

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Comment #22 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 10:01:28 PT

Max Flowers 
I am glad you see it the way I do. It drives me crazy. Murder is wrong but why do they keep showing us nasty murder cases? I want to know about the war in Iraq or what is happening anywhere in the Middle East. I want to know how we can avoid a world war. How about the new case of Mad Cow Disease in Canada? I want news that will help me see more clearly that's all. Murders and world war news are at the opposite end from each other.
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Comment #21 posted by Max Flowers on April 17, 2006 at 09:48:12 PT

FoM - TV news and murder stories (comment #15)
You said:- I turned on the news to catch up on the world situations and all I am seeing is someone killed someone. Why do they spend so much time telling us who is killed when it is not news that can help fix anything? News is to inform not to make us think we are watching a sick soap opera. - I couldn't agree more. This has been disgusting me for years now. I get extremely frustrated when there are many, many cutting-edge, very important stories happening all the time which are purposefully IGNORED by the news channels, and instead of informing us of these things, over and over they instead hide behind the murder stories. I think doing that serves two purposes: one, it serves to distract people from the other political stories that they (the news) should be running, and two, it keeps the masses intimidated and unable to think about those more important stories because their heads are filled with "news" of horrible murders all the time, which has the effect of exaggerating them and making it seem like we all have scary murder all around us all the time. Which may or may not be true depending a lot on where you live, but that's not the point---they should be reporting a multitude of other things that are far more relevant to us as a nation... but we're distracted by the latest Natalee Holloway (or similar) "breaking news."It really pisses me off, it's transparent, it's sick, and it's a huge breach of the responsibility that the news media is supposed to have, but has shirked off a long time ago.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 09:23:42 PT

Pictures of Robert Anton Wilson
http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmhttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/rw.jpghttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/wilson.jpg
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Comment #19 posted by whig on April 17, 2006 at 09:18:31 PT

ron
Good point, there never needs to be any propaganda in behalf of laws against murder, rape or burglary. Everyone just recognizes they are wrongful acts.I think there's a good bit of marketing lately on the whole "illegal immigration" thing, though.If you have to argue about whether a thing should be illegal at all, it should not be illegal. Period.
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Comment #18 posted by whig on April 17, 2006 at 09:15:27 PT

kaptinemo
FWIW, Robert Anton Wilson had probably the largest influence on my own thinking when I was younger and continuing to this day. Although I have read a lot more "serious" things, the joyful, ludic nature of Wilson's work is as much example as pedological of how to achieve a better life for ourselves and a better society for everyone.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 08:23:11 PT

Ron
It's good to see you. I don't understand your question though.
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Comment #16 posted by ron on April 17, 2006 at 08:12:28 PT

Cannabis Laws
What other laws need to be marketed?
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 08:02:16 PT

TV News
I turned on the news to catch up on the world situations and all I am seeing is someone killed someone. Why do they spend so much time telling us who is killed when it is not news that can help fix anything? News is to inform not to make us think we are watching a sick soap opera. Thanks for reading my rant. I turned on Democracy Now on Link TV and they talk about news that matters. I hope the network news channels wake up soon.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on April 17, 2006 at 07:45:36 PT

mayan
I agree that words are used to divide. I am glad that no friends of mine have ever been into politics. Once a person says that are a Republican I don't feel I will have anything in common to talk to them about. It really is a shame that people by stating what political party they are involved in turns off people because you get put in a box and that becomes your personality. Politics sure will divide a nation.
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on April 17, 2006 at 07:21:51 PT:

"IT'S WORKING! IT'S WORKING! IT'S WORKING!"
They shriek over and over and over again...when their own figures don't bear them out. There's a good reason why the ONDCP's propaganda budget got a chunk torn out of it last year...by *Republicans*. Their Holy Arbiter of the Budgetary Scales weighed the program in the balance and found it 'wanting' of any effectiveness...and gutted it. Just watching the kids laugh at the crude attempts to manipulate them is enough reason they should be scrapped and unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave out of sheer embarassment.Thanks to Robert Anton Willson's SNAFU Principle, http://tinyurl.com/m33v7 the ONDCP will *never* receive the feedback it needs to in order to effectively tailor its propaganda message, partly because it's so inherently 'uncool' and partly because most kids see it for what it is and will give false answers to any wonk seeking to test its' impact. 
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Comment #12 posted by Had Enough on April 17, 2006 at 06:53:11 PT

Conquistadors - Procol Harum
Conquistador your stallion stands
 in need of company
 and like some angel's haloed brow
 you reek of purity
 I see your armour-plated breast
 has long since lost its sheen
 and in your death mask face
 there are no signs which can be seen…………http://www.lyrics007.com/Procol%20Harum%20Lyrics/Conquistador%20Lyrics.html

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Comment #11 posted by Had Enough on April 17, 2006 at 06:39:09 PT

Divide to Conquer
mayan: Another bulls-eye, as usual.Everywhere I go I hear, Liberal this, Republican that. The hatred between the two parties rises above the words they spew.Conservative Republicans had their chance to get big government out of our living rooms, Liberal Democrats had their chance for all to have a fair opportunity and be treated as equals. Both parties failed miserably. Now they just point fingers, call each other names, and then proceed on with their own agendas. On our dime to boot!The more the world is polarized, the more stuff they can get away with. Kind of keeps the attention away from their true agendas.Off Topic: FoxNews is on this morning in the background. Heard a report. Dick Cheney gets 1.9 million American Dollars back from the IRS, with his tax filing this year. One of the Fox People (ManCow) mentioned “what about the guy who makes $30,000 per year”. I didn’t hear the rest, I was interrupted at that point, but I think he was pointing out things about tax cuts for the well to do, and how unfair it is to the working class. I was surprised to hear him say something like that. Even their own supporters are questioning their actions.

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Comment #10 posted by mayan on April 17, 2006 at 00:06:28 PT

Conservative / Liberal
It's just terminology used divide and conquer the populace. Those words have very little meaning anymore but they sure do polarize us don't they?
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on April 16, 2006 at 22:42:49 PT

Mark Souder
Drug convictions costing students their financial aid:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-16-drugs-students_x.htmFrom the above linked article...The aid analysis, compiled by the student group from data released last week by the Department of Education, notes that Indiana has the highest percentage of rejections, with one in 200 students denied financial aid because of drug convictions.Indiana Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican and author of the legislation, says it makes no difference how the states rank."The principle remains the same: the American taxpayer should not be subsidizing the educations of those students who are convicted of dealing or using illegal drugs," Souder said in a statement provided Sunday. Of course, the article fails to mention how the law mainly targets cannabis users. 
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 16, 2006 at 21:18:36 PT

ekim
That's great news. I agree we need to think more about democracy and our liberties now more then ever.
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Comment #7 posted by ekim on April 16, 2006 at 20:40:04 PT

gee just call and they come runnin
these guys are inventing Democracy anew.
 
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2006-04-16 16:20:00 
Source: 
 
When simply surviving the government’s attempt to kill you is called a victory, that says a lot about the precarious state of freedom in America and Canada today.  My next project is going to be called Making Democracy Work. (MakingDemocracyWork.com will be online soon.)Democracy is actually a very difficult system of government. Our failure even to recognize these difficulties is an indication of how serious our problems really are. There are certainly some legislative changes that might help at making democracy work, but most of the changes must begin with civil society, with Us, the People. (MarijuanaNews will remain on line, indefinitely, and when something related to cannabis is posted on my new website, it will also be posted on Marijuananews.com )
 

http://www.Marijuananews.com 
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Comment #6 posted by ekim on April 16, 2006 at 20:21:14 PT

calling all the Inventers -- show us the goods plz
Happy Easter to all. 
FoM i like what you feel for the earth, how many are inspired by songs and words to love one another. you ask where to hold a large event i think that Woodstock is happening as we speak. it lives just like today we think of one that was given a second chance to wake up and love oneanother. to feel that each and every one of us has the chance to change is a wonderful reason for a special day of remembrance. 
i don't have the site but seems its near the first site. maybe the rainbows will know - i have heard to ignore all rumors of cancellation. anyone catch the TV show about inventers here in the US.
where is the smokeless new devises. where are the Hemp Plastic guys and gals showing what the mean green can do, the fuel people too. 
now i see that the guy from starbucks is on a US made tv show. this is ok but i hope we partner up with some of the others on the planet that have been doing what FoM is saying about watching out for the next group to come cause it was nice to see what was here when we woke up. Happy Easter to all. 
FoM i like what you feel for the earth, how many are inspired by songs and words to love one another. you ask where to hold a large event i think that Woodstock is happening as we speak. it lives just like today we think of one that was given a second chance to wake up and love oneanother. to feel that each and every one of us has the chance to change is a wonderful reason for a special day of remembrance. 
i don't have the site but seems its near the first site. maybe the rainbows will know - i have heard to ignore all rumors of cancellation. anyone catch the TV show about inventers here in the US.
where is the smokeless new devises. where are the Hemp Plastic guys and gals showing what the mean green can do, the fuel people too. 
now i see that the guy from starbucks is on a US made tv show. this is ok but i hope we partner up with some of the others on the planet that have been doing what FoM is saying about watching out for the next group to come cause it was nice to see what was here when we woke up. 
there is real natural food and medicen plus the strongest fibers for helping all the earth. if we could read the history we would see that cloths and food and oils were made from Cannabis which no one of any History Education could refute to boot:)
-------------------------------------------------------
Apr 17 06 Cops Say Legalize Drugs; Find Out Why on KOFO Radio 08:10 AM Jack Cole Ottawa Kansas 
 After a whirlwind tour of Kansas, Jack Cole is back through the radio waves of The Brad Howard Early Morning Show on KOFO Radio 1220AM , in Ottawa, Kansas, at 8:10 a.m CST Monday April 17, 2006 for ten minutes. Apr 18 06 Two Perspectives of America's War on Drugs 12:00 PM Eric Sterling Washington District of Columbia USA 
 Speakers Eric Sterling and Matthew Fogg present "From Policy Making to Interdiction: Two Perspectives of America's War on Drugs" to students, faculty and the public. Eric will discuss the policy making side of the early years of the Drug War and Matthew will discuss the issue of enforcing the laws that the policy makers wrote. Location: Hotung Hall, Georgetown Law School http://www.law.georgetown.edu/ccp/hotung.html Apr 19 06 "Tales from the Front Line: A Police Captain's Perspective on the Failing War on 07:30 PM Peter Christ Ithica New York USA 
 Board Member and LEAP co-founder presents "Tales from the Front Line: A Police Captain's Perspective on the Failing War on Drugs" to students and faculty of Cornell University. This informative event is sponsored by the Cornell Libertarians. Location: HEC Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University. 

http://www.leap.cc/events/
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 16, 2006 at 14:40:11 PT

Conservatives
I am a conservative. Since it's Easter I'll talk about it from this perspective. If we give a person a gift and the person takes the gifts and says thank you and then throws it on the floor. He picks it up again and throws it on the floor once more. The next time he picks it up and throws it on the floor is shatters into a million pieces and then the person says oops it broke.We were given the earth to use as a gift to help sustain our lives. We treat it like the person throwing the gift to the ground.I believe in conserving that which was given to us so that we can pass it on to future generations and not have to go oops I broke it sorry.
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Comment #4 posted by lombar on April 16, 2006 at 14:32:10 PT

'Conservative' 
I use 'Conservative' in the context of 'member of the Conservative Party of Canada'. I think all truly conservative people would oppose the war on drugs if they could separate the morality aspect that puritans put into the debate/argument. Puritans are afraid of their own feelings... and are quite mistaken.Matthew 15:7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
 8" 'These people honor me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me.
 9They worship me in vain;
   their teachings are but rules taught by men.'[d]" 10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " I'll take his word over it rather than Mr. Walters and his army of the undead.Once I recongnised that they are using fear of 'what might happen' to distract from 'what is happening', their manipulations cease to be effective. I am drafting a response to that OPED.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 16, 2006 at 13:40:06 PT

A Question
What is a Conservative? People can say what a political party says being Conservative means but what does it really mean as far as how it relates to living with conservative values from a political viewpoint? I hope this makes sense. Do conservatives in politics practice what they preach?
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Comment #2 posted by lombar on April 16, 2006 at 13:13:18 PT

At this point...
.. I have no hope that things will improve. We are under the control of autocratic cowboys who ignore facts in favor of ideology.The greatest and worst danger of drug prohibition is the wide scale disrespect for the law and the rule of law. How can it be other when it appears the greatest crooks are the ones in power. Everyone just 'follows the leaders'. Since they exist on deception and corruption, so does the whole stinking country(s). The conservatives up here keep harping 'tough on crime' because of the supposed 'rise in crime' yet the actual statistics show that violent crimes have been trending down for years. The only things going up are fraud and drugs and this OBVIOUSLY shows a shift in ENFORCEMENT and not necessarily any change in the actual numbers of crimes. They chase drugs and support the BANKS more than anything else. In short, the stats show a decrease in violent crimes and now the conservatives want a 'crackdown'... unjustified, the wool is being pulled over the eyes of the country.Why do the canadian conservatives say "yes" to gun ownership and "no" to cannabis? Yes to death, no to sucrease from suffering? Why do they favor death for the living and life for the yet unborn? The knots they twist us into is vexing until you realize they must be HYPOCRITES, cheap labor conservatives, who are the true profiteers on misery based industries. Nothing in the budget to reduce the potential for crime, nor alleviate the root causes, just coercion.
THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT CRACKS DOWN ON CRIME 
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Comment #1 posted by charmed quark on April 16, 2006 at 12:14:16 PT

Voodoo science
Drug use down 23.2 to 17.3%. A 5 point difference may be in the margin of error of this study ( they don't say whatprobability interval this represents). How can important decisions be made in a great soicety when voodoo science is used for everything. First, correlation does not equal causation. Secondly, the ads targeted marijuana and they are giving numbers for all drug use. And this is the sort of analysis used to push budgets.As others have said, perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the drug war has been its attack on reasoning, logic and science. I realize such analysis is now being used everywhere in government, but I think it most strongly advanced due to the drug war. The long-term consequents of this on our society may be severe.
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