cannabisnews.com: Linkhart Weeds Out Arguments Against Pot 





Linkhart Weeds Out Arguments Against Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on October 18, 2006 at 07:56:11 PT
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News 
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Colorado -- The Denver councilman who chairs the city's Safety Committee is under fire for supporting Amendment 44, which would decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana by an adult. Doug Linkhart, who is an at-large councilman, indicated in his fall newsletter that he would "probably vote" for Amendment 44.
"I'm open to persuasion from the other side," Linkhart said Tuesday. "I never heard enough evidence that consuming small amounts of marijuana is a safety issue. Alcohol causes many more problems, as far as I know, compared to marijuana." But Mike Mosco, president of the Denver Police Protective Association, disagreed with Linkhart's assessment. "I think it (raises) questions (about) his ability to be the chair of that committee," he said. "What kind of thought process is behind this? What kind of message is he sending to the public? What message is he sending to children?" Mosco asked. Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who had opposed the similarly worded initiative I-100 on the city ballot last year, accused Linkhart of pandering to public opinion with his support of Amendment 44. "He's listening to campaign rhetoric and not to the police chief," Brown said. "I'm concerned about the national and international image of Denver and Colorado if this passes," he said. "Folks will be coming here to reap a lot of money selling marijuana and other drugs. I don't think it's the kind of new business we want to attract to our state and city." But Mason Tvert with Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) said opponents of the measure have it backward. "Folks like Charlie Brown and members of the police force would prefer to posture and pander to what they believe is the public opinion, which is to maintain the status quo," he said. "We're certainly pleased to see Doug Linkhart stand up for the people who elected him. We wish other council members would stop playing politics and support public safety." Council President Michael Hancock said Linkhart's stand won't hurt his credibility or authority on the Safety Committee. "He has every right to speak about his support of the initiative," he said. But Hancock also believes that Linkhart's position on Amendment 44 was politically motivated. "Last night we approved, and he voted for, an anti-drug community project," he said. "That duplicity of the message is upsetting to me personally. As an elected official, he has to be responsible because children look up to him." But he dismissed any speculation on whether Linkhart could lose his committee chairmanship. "Councilman Linkhart is a good leader. I just don't support his position on this," Hancock said. Other Colorado politicians also have come out in favor of Amendment 44. "I was a police officer for over 30 years, and I've always been in favor of legalizing marijuana," said Rep. Gary Lindstrom, D-Eagle County. "It was not a good law. If you are going to prohibit people from using something, start with alcohol. People die from that all the time." A former Summit County coroner for eight years as well, Lindstrom said he's never seen anyone die from smoking marijuana. "I just feel we can do better things with our time and money," he said. And last month, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to pass a resolution in support of the amendment. "The fact of the matter is: Marijuana, drugs and alcohol are a fact of life," said Michael Owsley, vice chairman of the Pitkin County commissioners. "We can't make everything a criminal offense."Complete Title: Linkhart Weeds Out Arguments Against Pot InitiativeSource: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)Author:   Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News Published: October 18, 2006Copyright: 2006 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Councilor Takes Heat for Pot-Issue Supporthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22291.shtmlHigh Time for Pot Law, Supporters Sayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22286.shtmlHippie-Hating and Baitinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22244.shtml 
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on October 19, 2006 at 19:04:19 PT
Comment 25 Max
I did notice that, myself.Again. Welcome, Raphael and everyone that has been stepping out of lurkdom and posting.And, thank you.
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Comment #25 posted by Max Flowers on October 19, 2006 at 09:06:30 PT
rafael
Your written English is much cleaner than that of most Americans I know (a sad statement indeed about the US education system)!!
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on October 19, 2006 at 07:59:04 PT
Dean Eanderthals and Rapheal
Welcome to C-News.We likely have C-Newsers in Australia. Surely "Big Bong", an old friend from the DrugSense chat and the many friends in the Nimbin area that he introduced us to, check in here every once in a while.
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on October 19, 2006 at 07:39:01 PT
Children don't vote. The message isn't for them.
"What message is he sending to children?" Mosco asked.On the other hand...he might be sending a message a child could understand. "Child...you live in a free country. A blessed and merciful country. We won't drag your Daddy or Mamma out of bed at four o'clock in the morning at gunpoint or put you in a stranger's care because your mom or dad smoke a little weed. Stop worrying so much, dear child."
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on October 19, 2006 at 07:34:42 PT
Official "pandering to public opinion"...
pander: to act as a pander; to provide gratification for others' desires.
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Comment #21 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 22:34:59 PT
rafael
Welcome. My uncle's name was Raphael by the way, and he was a very good man. Please write and don't worry if your English isn't perfect. We are international, if we could speak every language we would, but we wouldn't understand one another.Maybe once we've ended war, and people can talk to one another without fear, we will all find a way to communicate across even the language barriers that exist.
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Comment #20 posted by BGreen on October 18, 2006 at 22:16:20 PT
Welcome to CNews.com, dean eanderthals
Do you have similar creatures to the DEA Neanderthals in the UK or do you just have to suffer from our exports?Cheers, mate.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #19 posted by afterburner on October 18, 2006 at 21:53:23 PT
Message
"What kind of thought process is behind this? What kind of message is he sending to the public? What message is he sending to children?" Mosco asked. The message is that alcohol is not harmless!Do you disagree, Mr. Mosco?
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 21:36:50 PT
Welcome Everyone
We really have good people here. We do care. 
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Comment #17 posted by BGreen on October 18, 2006 at 21:23:38 PT
Welcome to CNews.com, rafael
We all sometimes have trouble with the English language. I doubt if any of us know much Portuguese at all, so you just write whenever you want and don't worry about sounding silly. I think your command of our language is really great.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #16 posted by rafael on October 18, 2006 at 21:08:34 PT:
whig (Comment #12)
I don´t know about Australia, but I´m from Brazil and have been following CNews daily for quite some time now. I´ve never wrote any comments before because I have a little difficulty expressing myself in english (don´t have much pratice), so every time I wanted to say something I kinda gave up hehehe..
I think you´re all doing a great job here educating the public about this terrible war against our people.Just an insight about how are cannabis laws here if anyone´s interested:
Currently users don´t go to jail anymore, thanks to a law that was approved recently, but you still get a police record for life and have to do some social work or pay a fine. If you grow small amounts for personal use only, you´re considered a user (before even if it was just one small plant you were arrested as a dealer). So things are better, but we still have a long way to go.The biggest problem here is the violence involved in the illegal drug trade. That makes the public very closed minded about legalization because all the BS the police and the government says, placing the blame on the users instead of admiting prohibition is a failed policy.Sorry about my english...
I´ll try to write more.
Keep up the good work.
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Comment #15 posted by The GCW on October 18, 2006 at 18:58:52 PT
Den Po Pro Ass
"I think it (raises) questions (about) Mike Mosco, president of the Denver Police Protective Association’s ability to be the prez of the Den Po Pro Ass.If He has anything to do with protecting citizens then Amendment 44 will help police do a better job of actually protecting citizens.But if His job has more to do with police protection of jobs… then He is doing a fine job. He is more a union mouth piece not a citizen protection tag.420-44Since Denver passes In. 100, has Denver burned to the ground? Has anything out of the ordinary happened?Anything at all?44-420Gary Lindstrom, former NYC police officer, former Summit County Sheriff, coroner, County Commissioner and present State Representative knows and helps set the record straight.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 18:52:19 PT
AFP: Patients Can Grow Their Own Cannabis
Patients Can Grow Their Own Cannabis, Says Dutch Court in Landmark Ruling ***October 17, 2006A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday handed down a landmark ruling allowing an MS patient to grow cannabis for his personal use to alleviate the symptoms of his illness. Although it is legal in the Netherlands to sell and consume small amounts of cannabis and hashish in licensed cafes, growing and trafficking the drugs are banned. Tuesday's ruling is the first time the Dutch authorities have made an exception on the ban on growing cannabis for personal medical use. The case before the appeals court in Leeuwarden in the northern Netherlands involved 51-year old Wim Moorlag, who suffers from multiple sclerosis or MS, and his wife Klasiena Hooijer, who grew cannabis. They cultivated just enough to meet Moorlag's daily use of three grams, namely some 300 grams per harvest every 15 weeks. Officially the possession and sale of cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands but it is tolerated under certain strict conditions. Cannabis cafes, known here as coffee shops, are the only venues authorized to sell no more than five grams a day to people 18 years and older. People can have up to 30 grams of cannabis in their possession for personal use without being prosecuted. Moorland argued he could not buy cannabis from coffee shops, because it could contain harmful fungi and bacteria. This could be especially dangerous for MS patients as they are already weakend by their disease, his lawyers said. In 2004 Moorlag and his wife were convicted with a fine of 250 euros (314 dollars) by a lower court. On appeal this conviction was quashed because the court ruled that the personal interests of Moorlag to alleviate pain connected with his disease overrides the public interest in banning the cultivation of cannabis. "This means that other patients can also legally grow their own cannabis, not just MS patients but also people with AIDS," Moorlag's lawyer Wim Anker told the Dutch ANP news agency. Copyright: 2006 AFP http://www.physorg.com/news80326365.html
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Comment #13 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 16:47:16 PT
Funny thought
Wouldn't it be great if the blogospheric equivalent of the United Nations happened to be CNews?
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Comment #12 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 16:45:47 PT
mayan
We're a lot of countries represented here now, I think, even if we're mostly talking about America. I know some of the regulars are in Canada, and UK now, wonder if we've got some Australians yet?
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Comment #11 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 16:43:47 PT
FoM
"WIN is not appropriate for use in humans because it still contains substances that may trigger a "high." However, Wenk hopes that some form of this compound might be used to benefit people with neurological diseases."What is wrong with these people? Did someone slap them every time they smiled when they were children?
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Comment #10 posted by mayan on October 18, 2006 at 15:37:58 PT
dean eanderthals 
I didn't know if you had seen this...Marijuana Consumption Drops in U.K. Despite Liberalized Laws:
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2006/marijuana-consumption-drops.htmlI hope your country soon sees the light. Ours too!
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Comment #9 posted by lombar on October 18, 2006 at 14:06:25 PT
dean eanderthals
dean eanderthals becomesDea NeanderthalsHow apt! Funny nom de plume!
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 13:21:29 PT
Marijuana-Like Compound May Slow Alzheimer's
http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/535581.html
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Comment #7 posted by dean eanderthals on October 18, 2006 at 12:55:10 PT
whig
Thank you :-) Hi all.I'm a long-time lurker, but the insanity of the drug war has finally got me worked up enough to post.(I'm in the UK actually, but we still have people here getting arrested for having 15USD-worth of greenery on them...I know through bitter experience!)We're winning though, I'm absolutely sure of it. We've got conservative Baptists and the like on our side now...we've turned a corner.
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Comment #6 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 12:49:14 PT
dean eanderthals
Welcome to CNews. I don't know if you're new here but I didn't recognize your name.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 12:45:43 PT
Whisky Tango Foxtrot
"Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who had opposed the similarly worded initiative I-100 on the city ballot last year, accused Linkhart of pandering to public opinion with his support of Amendment 44."Pandering to public opinion by an elected official? Heavens!
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Comment #4 posted by dean eanderthals on October 18, 2006 at 12:00:27 PT
The Nerve Of The Man
"Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who had opposed the similarly worded initiative I-100 on the city ballot last year, accused Linkhart of pandering to public opinion with his support of Amendment 44."Well absolutely. Linkhart should hang his head in shame. Anyone would think that policing in America was by consent. Good on Charlie Brown for not listening to the nasty public. Who cares if they elected him.Why should the law change just because people want it to? It's what the police want that counts. Cannabis should stay illegal because it's illegal, and that's that.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 09:09:42 PT
AP: Denver Councilman OK with Pot Referendum 
By Dan Boniface Web Producer 
October 18, 2006DENVER (AP) - With Coloradans poised to vote on whether marijuana should be legal in the Centennial State, the chairman of the Denver City Council's Public Safety Committee says he's in favor of legalization. Democrat Doug Linkhart says he hasn't seen proof that marijuana is harmful and he's in favor of Amendment 44. That amendment on the November ballot would legalize small amounts of the drug in Colorado. Linkhart is a councilman in a city that got national attention last year when voters passed a city initiative legalizing possession of less than an ounce of pot. Linkhart says he doesn't smoke marijuana or encourage anyone to use the drug, but he thinks it's a personal choice. However, he says, no matter how popular the measure is in Denver, it probably won't pass a statewide test at the polls. Copyright by The Associated PressURL: http://tinyurl.com/y7e89p
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Comment #2 posted by paul armentano on October 18, 2006 at 08:13:09 PT
News item on NORML/Santa Barbara Initiative
[Excerpts]http://www.ucsbdailynexus.com/news/2006/12185.htmlMeasure P Fires Up City OfficialsBy David Ferry — Staff Writer
Published Tuesday October 17, 2006 Measure P, an initiative for the City of Santa Barbara on Nov. 7’s election ballot, would make adult marijuana possession intended for personal use legally equivalent to jaywalking and minor traffic violations. ...One of Santa Barbara’s public officials, a number of citizens, and groups of UCSB students have expressed support for the measure.Lara Cassell, the campaign coordinator manager for Measure P, said SBPD’s fears are unfounded because the measure would not prevent officers from arresting individuals or prosecuting them. Instead, the oversight committee would help citizens who feel they have been unjustly arrested by the SBPD for marijuana incidents, she said. “This doesn’t tie the police’s hands in any way,” Cassell said. “The measure is actually only for adult marijuana offenses where the intention is for adult use.”According to a poll conducted by Sensible Santa Barbara, an organization created to support Measure P, the majority of the city’s population supports the initiative. ....Kravitz said members of UCSB’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws petitioned Santa Barbara city residents for signatures to support the measure.“The whole population’s been really supportive; very few people said anything negative,” Kravitz said. “Most people signed it or were upset that they couldn’t sign it.”Local supporters and members of the UCSB chapter of NORML collected 10,000 signatures in order to place the measure on the ballot, Kravitz said. Measure P is based on similar laws passed in the cities of Seattle and Denver, and similar measures are currently under consideration by residents of Santa Cruz and Santa Monica, Calif.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 08:03:00 PT
Just a Comment
I couldn't find out if Linkhart was a Democrat or Republican. I kept searching and I'm so happy to find out he is a Democrat. 
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