cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Documentary Sparks Bigger Debate





Medical Marijuana Documentary Sparks Bigger Debate
Posted by CN Staff on November 14, 2007 at 17:10:23 PT
By Deborah J. Siegelbaum 
Source: Medill Reports 
Illinois -- Grass, pot, weed, bud, dope, cannabis - it’s a drug with many names. In some cultures it is considered a portal to another realm of consciousness, and vilified in others as a gateway drug to a life of addiction. But treatment for symptoms of diseases like AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological disorders? Can it be that this illegal party drug is…a cure? The Film 
These are questions the documentary “Waiting to Inhale” explores. From a brief history of marijuana through its current status as an illegal substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the film looks at benefits the drug may have that have long been overlooked. The documentary, currently screening across North America, met with cheers from the audience at Roosevelt University last Thursday evening. With interviews of doctors, patients, marijuana growers, advocates, opponents, and government officials, the documentary goes beyond a pro-drug propaganda piece. It becomes a convincing argument for how pot can help those in pain who have explored every pharmaceutical drug available. The Cycle An overarching theme of the documentary is the current catch-22 for medical marijuana. It is classified as a schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act, labeled as having a high potential for abuse and no current accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S. As a schedule 1 substance, cannabis can be researched only with federal approval and using a supply provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This government monopoly on access to marijuana for medical testing has made clinical trials next to impossible to get off the ground. Because clinical trials are not undertaken, it is difficult to prove that marijuana could have beneficial properties. And so the cycle continues. The Panel A panel of experts and patients led by the film’s director, Jed Riffe, convened after the screening to discuss medical marijuana’s status in limbo. The Patient The non-profit marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, estimates that 300,000 Americans use medical marijuana. Marijuana has become a treatment for those suffering pain from MS, nausea and loss of appetite from AIDS, spasms from neurological disorders and many other ailments that have no set cure. Medical marijuana users report fewer side effects than those associated with legal prescription medications.Panelist Julie Falco, a patient suffering from MS, described years of pain and frustration trying every pharmaceutical treatment available, most of which made her worse. “Every time I took a medication, it was just so severe and depressing and discouraging that nothing was working.” Falco started using cannabis in 2004, ingesting it three times daily, and it alleviated the symptoms of her illness to such an extent that she is no longer on any other medication. “This is the drug that works for me,” she said, even though her treatment of choice is currently illegal. The DoctorDr. Bruce Doblin, an internist and medical ethicist in Chicago, described the difficulty physicians face when patients could be helped by marijuana, but doctors are unable to prescribe it. “The frustrating thing about being a physician is that you take an oath dedicated to help people. There’s something right out there and it’s not available. What is available are a lot of pain medications that have all sorts of complications – those are very available, but complicated to take and complicated to prescribe.”A U.S. Department of Justice-appointed judge ruled in May that the DEA end its forty-year government monopoly on the supply of research-grade marijuana available for Food and Drug Administration-approved studies. With the monopoly broken, new medical studies could lead to accepted medical proof that marijuana has benefits in treatment. This is good news for physicians, but may not be the lynchpin needed to legalize medical marijuana across the U.S. For Doblin, the current status of medical marijuana as a banned substance is not based on its unproven effectiveness in medicine. “There’s decades of good experience showing that medical cannabis works. There’s really no debate about whether it works or not.”  The LawJames Gierach is a former Cook County prosecutor and current member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a non-profit organization of criminal justice professionals advocating the end of drug prohibition. Gierach described his former viewpoint that drug use was akin to violence, and he prosecuted offenders to the full extent of the law. But, over the years, after “seeing what the drug was has done for us,” he changed his mind.“The war on drugs not only doesn’t accomplish what it is designed to do - to keep drugs away from young people and save them - it is the heart of nearly any crisis that you can name in America.” Gierach listed issues such as guns, gangs, crime, health care and funding for terrorism as such problems enhanced by prohibition, and stated that “the good guys are on the same side as the drug dealers, and the reason is economics.”Gierach argued that the underground market for drugs drastically increases their value, to the point that marijuana has more value than gold. Legalizing the drug would remove the economic benefit and make it easier to regulate.“We must as a nation start discussing the harm that’s being done by the war on drugs, even though it was intended as an altruistic program to save our kids,” Gierach said.  The PoliticsLobbyist John Walker echoed this sentiment, and asked the audience if they were angry in the wake of the documentary screening. He requested that they channel that anger into action, and that they petition Congress to pass legislation legalizing the use of medical marijuana. “We’re at a tipping point…we are going to pass a medical marijuana bill here in Illinois this year. We’ve got to.” Medical Marijuana in IllinoisHouse Bill 0407, the Medical Cannabis Act, was introduced in the Illinois House by Rep. Larry McKeon, a former Los Angeles police officer, on January 26, 2005. The act “provides that a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition and the person’s primary caregiver may be issued a registry identification card by the Department of Human Services that permits the person or the person’s primary caregiver to legally possess no more than 12 cannabis plants and two and one-half ounces of usable cannabis.”Those in possession of a registry identification card are not subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty.McKeon, himself a patient living with AIDS, has witnessed first-hand the beneficial effects marijuana can have. “I’ve seen medical marijuana help others and know that many physicians recommend it. I don’t know if I will ever need medical marijuana, but no one battling a life-threatening illness should face arrest and jail for simply trying to stay alive,” McKeon said in an interview posted on MedicalMJ.org.HB0407 is currently under review by the House Human Services Committee.The use of marijuana for medical purposes is currently legal in twelve states: California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.  Last screening of “Waiting to Inhale” in Illinois:Thursday, Nov. 15, 20077 pm – 9:30 pmSouthern Illinois University,Student Center AuditoriumCarbondale, IllinoisSource: Medill Reports (IL)Author: Deborah J. Siegelbaum Published: November 14, 2007Copyright: 2007 Medill Reports - Chicago, Northwestern UniversityContact: k-nugent-1 northwestern.edu Website: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/Related Article & Web Site:Waiting To Inhalehttp://www.waitingtoinhale.org/ Documentary To Educate About Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23467.shtml
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on November 17, 2007 at 11:34:10 PT
John Tyler and Anyone Interested
This is another song that I really love from the DVD of TSO. I read where the man that performed this song called Music Box Blues passed away while getting ready for one of the tours. The African American man that narrates this DVD passed away too. He reminds me so much of our friend from Arizona. Everyone that enjoys Christmas should have a copy of this play. It isn't expensive either.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufs351bTvZg
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Comment #40 posted by Dankhank on November 17, 2007 at 09:22:02 PT
Kumar
funny video that reminds me of a typical british tv show ...miss that odd sense of humor they have over there ...
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Comment #39 posted by FoM on November 16, 2007 at 20:14:45 PT
John Tyler
That was really funny. Thanks. I really missed youtube when I was with HughesNet. It's nice to be able to watch different videos and not worry again.
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Comment #38 posted by John Tyler on November 16, 2007 at 20:01:48 PT
good FOM
That was good. I have just been discovering music on youtube. Here is one you might enjoy. It is a very weird and funny video of Norm Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky song. It starts off slow with this Indian family watching TV, but then really gets into gear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uem8L6eteg&feature=related
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on November 16, 2007 at 19:16:14 PT
John Tyler
I like it. That was good. I have been listening to the Trans Siberian Orchestra today. They are in Pittsburgh on Sunday and we are trying to put together plans to go see them. This is the last song on the DVD called The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. The daughter that ran away is coming home. I hope you like it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nli3a-v1rk
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Comment #36 posted by John Tyler on November 16, 2007 at 18:36:32 PT
FOM and all
I liked the Prairie Town video. Here is on by an Australian band called Midnight Oil that I have always liked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10BbpGKLXqkMaybe you will like it too.
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 16:39:58 PT
Hey, Aminga.
That's cool. It's good to know you're there.
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Comment #34 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 16:37:06 PT
"...a closet toad licker."
Eeeeyeeewww!That explains it then.
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Comment #33 posted by Dankhank on November 15, 2007 at 16:35:20 PT
and ...
the singer of To Sir with Love ... scene from movie ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukONzCkxLkk
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Comment #32 posted by afterburner on November 15, 2007 at 13:46:02 PT
For the Children
"But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try,"
--Lulu, To Sir With Love Lyrics
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/l/lulu8154/tosirwithlove284741.html
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Comment #31 posted by afterburner on November 15, 2007 at 13:38:59 PT
fight_4_freedom #21
Thank you for all your hard work, and God bless.
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 12:17:52 PT
fight_4_freedom 
It is wonderful the heat of a woodstove. It warms your bones. We heat our house with it. Our porch is full of wood with wood to be unloaded off our old pickup truck too. We don't have any backup heat because it is too expensive and we can heat our house for a couple hundred dollars and if the power goes out we can cook on it. 
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Comment #29 posted by fight_4_freedom on November 15, 2007 at 12:01:05 PT:
Thanks for the song
Ahh the good old woodstove. I do really miss my country livin' days where it was below freezing and we'd fill up Egore (yes the woodstove had a name) with the wood we cut earlier that fall and sit around the fire to talk. I'm very jealous FOM. :) Enjoy the snow and the warmth of the woodstove.
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 11:50:29 PT
fight_4_freedom 
I found a song. Let It Snow. I have the wood in for our woodstove, a cake in the oven and the snow is on it's way here too. Have a great day.McFly - Let it Snowhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4wY5qtzSjU
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Comment #27 posted by fight_4_freedom on November 15, 2007 at 11:39:18 PT:
Fred Thompson: Another sheep following the flock
I liked that slick little move that woman tried at the end to try and get his signature on that medical marijuana pin or whatever it was. Karma will catch up to those who are ignoring this very important issue.Well the snow/rain mix is moving in for the day. Personally, if it's going to be cold I'd rather see it snow than rain though. I love seeing that first snow on the ground every year. I think there's something mystical/magical about snowfall. It gives me a sense of peace.Anywho, time to go face the elements.
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 11:03:34 PT
Fred Thompson On Medical Marijuana 
November 15, 2007http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/11/15/fred-thompson-on-medical-marijuana/
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 09:50:10 PT
Aminga 
Thank you. That made my day!
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Comment #24 posted by Aminga on November 15, 2007 at 09:48:29 PT:
FoM
Ive been reading your comments and visiting this site since i was 17. Now at 23 i still visit daily and scour pages for your comments. You have a great outlook on life and what you have done for everyone through this website is amazing. 
     It gives a lot of people hope, and i just thought maybe you'd like to know that you and this website and all the regular posters, your words are not falling onto deaf ears....
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 09:38:25 PT
Prairie Town
Since Thanksgiving is next Thursday I got to thinking about this wonderful video with Randy Bachman, Neil Young and Cowboy Junkies. It wasn't available for a long time but it's back and I thought others might like to watch it while it is still available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7ewuZS49aE
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 09:23:21 PT
fight_4_freedom 
I wish you the greatest success! I'm glad we crack you up. Laughter is good medicine! 
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Comment #21 posted by fight_4_freedom on November 15, 2007 at 09:18:13 PT:
Hilarious!!
You guys sure know how to crack me up :)I just want to thank you all for being you.Just a little update.....5 days left to petition here in MI. MCCC turns them into the State on the 20th.I'm not sure how long the state validating process takes, but when I go to the MCCC office in Detroit on monday hopefully I'll find out some more info on that.I don't want to count our chickens before they hatch, but I do feel very confident this will be on the 08' ballot.Hope everyone here at C-News has a beautiful day.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 08:59:51 PT
Hope
Beer! Too much! LOL!Little bitty hand cuffs. Little bitty shackles.That cracked me up. Oh how stupid this is.
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 08:54:51 PT
The cops and the prohibs would probably
feel very differently than they do about this toad, if the thing secreted beer.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on November 15, 2007 at 08:31:03 PT
Toad
I think if the toad could speak he would say bud is wiser! LOL!
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 08:21:34 PT
Toads sing.
He's probably singing the Colorado River Toad Blues every night. "I'm just an old toad. Didn't do nothing wrong. Now they got me in the jail. I'm just an old toad. Didn't do nothing wrong."http://www.audio4fun.com/download/funsound/mp3/animal/Toad%20sing.mp3
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Comment #16 posted by dongenero on November 15, 2007 at 08:21:10 PT
I saw the pictures of Souder...
...it was dark and the car windows were steamed up but, you could clearly see it was Souder in there and he was licking a toad.
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Comment #15 posted by dongenero on November 15, 2007 at 08:17:25 PT
Souder.........
........is a closet toad licker.
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 08:16:34 PT
Little bitty hand cuffs. Little bitty shackles.
I can just imagine the poor toad sitting there in his little bitty cell looking at officers as they pass by with his big ole toad eyes looking so sad. If they won't release him without bail... I hope they at least give him food and water.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 08:11:51 PT
" Hop across a state line" ?
"Interstate Commerce Clause"?This could be Supreme Court territory.I can just see that poor toad brought before the Justices.Scary stuff.Maybe we could spend about four billion dollars of tax money to find a way to forbid the creatures from secreting illegal substances.Will Souder want them all exterminated? What about the protected species laws? Will that stop Souder? He wants to wipe out certain natural plants for his own satisfaction. I can imagine his hatred and distaste (hee-hee) for the value of the poor toads.
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Comment #12 posted by dongenero on November 15, 2007 at 07:59:56 PT
The "War on Toads"
It's a catch 22 for the toads. If they themselves ARE a scheduled controlled substance, they could be arrested just for being themselves!And, what if they happen to hop across a state line? Clearly the interstate commerce clause comes into to play.We have opened a real can of worms here and you know what? Toads like to eat worms! Toads are also a gateway to frogs!What kind of message does this send to the children? 
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 07:48:43 PT
Did the toad file charges?
Toads don't like to be licked?Why was the toad "arrested"? Did he get combative with the police?Are they going to arrest all Colorado River Toads? 
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Comment #10 posted by Had Enough on November 15, 2007 at 07:27:18 PT
Nixon’s medical committee
“So Nixon had a medical committee do a study on the "drug" which would give him some authority on the subject. The study came back and, dooh! They found no potential for abuse. They said it is relatively safe, and recommended it be legalized. Nixon through a fit, refused to release the findings and got his act passed without it.”Shafer CommitteeNixon Commission Report Advising Decriminalization of Marijuana Celebrates 30th Anniversary (2002)http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5097
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on November 15, 2007 at 06:57:13 PT
Arresting Toad Lickers?
That's just ridiculous.One guys says, "People used to do it all the time." What world did he come from? People certainly didn't used to "do it all the time" in the world I live in.
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on November 14, 2007 at 23:47:30 PT
End Cannabis Prohibition
CN ON: PUB LTE: Time To End Drug Prohibition, Peterborough This Week, (13 Nov 2007) Stan White http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n1316/a01.html?176
 CN AB: Albertans Hooked On Cocaine, Edmonton Sun, (11 Nov 2007) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n1312/a06.html?176Logical consequence of oil jobs and increased drug testing (promoted by the oil industry and urged by the U.S. government)? 
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Comment #7 posted by runruff on November 14, 2007 at 22:13:21 PT:
Nixon and the drug scheduling act.
Marijuana prohibition never had good intentions, ever. I may have said this before but indulge me if I have, please.Nixon hated the hippies. Nixon wanted to be known as the law and order president. Two facts to remember. After Timothy Leary won his case in the supreme court when he challenged the constitutionality of the marijuana tax act, for a time marijuana was legal in America and Nixon was furious. I heard Alexander Haige say in a taped interview that he was the one who suggested the drug scheduling act to Nixon. He told him that since marijuana is the favorite drug of the hippie culture, he could place it in the schedule one catagory with high potential for abuse, high risk for addiction,no medical use, ect, blah, blah, and so on. Once he got a federal law prohibiting it he could place a federal police presence in every precinct in America. Something every local cop hated the idea of in those days. Up untill then all laws were handled locally except those crimes that fell under FBI jurisdiction. So congress greased the skidds by giving lots of money to budget starved local precincts. Now the Feds were welcome. Not wanting to look soft on crime congress would pass the bill easily. So Nixon had a medical committee do a study on the "drug" which would give him some authority on the subject. The study came back and, dooh! They found no potential for abuse. They said it is realivley safe, and recommended it be legalized. Nixon through a fit, refused to release the findings and got his act passed without it.
Mr. Haige Who was White House counsel to the president at that time said that after he has seen what they have done with this federal war on drugs he is sorry that he proposed his idea to Nixon. 
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Comment #6 posted by Dankhank on November 14, 2007 at 21:59:59 PT
Toaklicking
One of the first stories I saved from the net was on this topic.From Feb 1998. I've had it so long that it's still in Wordperfect format.It has a great graphic with it,, be neat if I could figure a way to show it with the graphic.any ideas?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 14, 2007 at 21:04:36 PT
 MikeC 
That's fine. What an odd story. I wonder if the toad is Schedule I or Schedule II?Seriously it really is getting way out of hand.
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Comment #4 posted by MikeC on November 14, 2007 at 21:00:40 PT
Off Topic...
I'm sorry FoM but I just have to post this link. This here shows just how ridiculous this whole "war on drugs" thing has become. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311715,00.htmlNow,I myself could never imagine licking a tad that secretes hallucinogenic fluids but who in the hell's business is it that this guy does? Is possessing this species of toad against the law? Is there now a "war on toads"? This country is sinking further and further into complete lunacy.
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on November 14, 2007 at 19:59:31 PT
Come to MI shine some light on this madddness
Sen. Dodd and Rep. Dennis Kucinich please come to Richland MI to Gull Lake and see what kind of teachers the Gov't is drawing and quartering 
 Millions would gladly pay tax if only the gov't would do as you have said -- regulate cannabis- http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?lettersPlease allow teachers 
Nov 14 07
to keep certification We were distressed to read of the conviction of teachers Brett and Keri Johnson on marijuana charges and to hear that this may result in the loss of their teacher certification and even their home. Whatever they may do in the privacy of their own home, their professionalism at Gull Lake High School cannot be questioned. 
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-4/1195055724194070.xml&coll=73-LETTERS TO THE EDITOR--
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Outcome of teachers' case is tragic and too severe Regarding the Oct. 27 article, ``Former Gull Lake teachers sentenced for growing pot,'' I don't know any more of the facts than what I read and I haven't heard any of the local gossip since my youngest child graduated from Gull Lake High School in 2002, but I was deeply saddened to hear about the legal troubles facing Brett and Keri Johnson. 
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-4/1194758904127490.xml&coll=7
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on November 14, 2007 at 18:25:40 PT
Bulls-Eye!
“The war on drugs not only doesn’t accomplish what it is designed to do - to keep drugs away from young people and save them - it is the heart of nearly any crisis that you can name in America.” Gierach listed issues such as guns, gangs, crime, health care and funding for terrorism as such problems enhanced by prohibition, and stated that “the good guys are on the same side as the drug dealers, and the reason is economics.”The cannabis plant could empower the earth's people. It's no wonder that those who wish to enslave us want it eradicated!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Marine Lt. Col. Shelton Lankford Protests "Truth = Terror" Smear:
http://911blogger.com/node/12541Artist wants some questions asked:
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/11/11/local_news/474272.txtThe Second Annual Boston Tea Party and Conference for 9/11 Truth! December 15,16:
http://boston911truth.org/teaparty/Music of Ralph Buckley:
http://ralphbuckley.com/home.html9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 14, 2007 at 17:12:22 PT
Direct Link To The Article
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=69533
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