cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - January 31, 2008 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - January 31, 2008 Posted by CN Staff on January 31, 2008 at 15:58:52 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Backs Federal Decriminalization -- “I think the war on drugs has been a failure, and I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws.” January 31, 2008 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: A newly discovered video of a 2004 appearance at Northwestern University by Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, in which he calls for the federal decriminalization of marijuana, was posted online today by The Washington Times. In that appearance, Obama states, "I think the war on drugs has been a failure, and I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws." Obama continued, saying that while he supported decriminalization, he did not support the full legalization of marijuana.In contrast, Senator Obama appeared to oppose decriminalization in a 2007 Democratic primary debate when MSNBC moderator Tim Russert asked candidates who opposed then-candidate Senator Chris Dodd’s support of decriminalization to raise their hands. In the video, Senator Obama is seen hesitantly raising his hand halfway before quickly lowering it again.When asked about the two different answers, Senator Obama’s campaign stated that he has "always" supported decriminalization, and that Obama misunderstood the question when he raised his hand in the debate. In that same statement, Obama’s campaign reiterated the Senator’s opposition to full legalization, but said that an Obama administration "will review drug sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the blind and counterproductive sentencing of non-violent offenders.""It appears Senator Obama, alone among the major candidates for the presidency, has the courage to state the obvious: it is time that we stopped treating responsible marijuana smokers like criminals," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre. "According to a recent CNN/Time Warner poll, 76% of the American people agree with Senator Obama, as well as the 48 million Americans who smoked marijuana last year."Democratic rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign stated that she opposes decriminalization. On the Republican side, Senator John McCain opposes decriminalization, while former Utah Governor Mitt Romney opposes both decriminalization and physician-recommended access to medical cannabis. For more information, please contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500. The Washington Times story, along with video of the two appearances referenced above, are available online at: http://tinyurl.com/267ag2DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7499 US Investigators Praise Cannabinoids As Chemo Treatment January 31, 2008 - Madison, WI, USAMadison, WI: Cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation and should be clinically tested as chemotherapeutic agents, according to a review published in the January issue of the journal Cancer Research.Investigators at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health reported that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lymphoma. Researchers suggested that cannabinoids may offer significant advantages over standard chemotherapy treatments because the compounds are both non-toxic and can uniquely target malignant cells while ignoring healthy ones. "Cannabinoids … offer potential applications as anti-tumor drugs, based on the ability of some members of this class to limit inflammation, cell proliferation, and cell survival," authors concluded. "[T]here is overwhelming evidence to suggest that cannabinoids can be explored as chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer."In November, researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute reported that the administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol limits the activity of the breast cancer metastasis gene Id-1, stating, "[Cannabidiol] offers hope of a non-toxic therapy that could [treat aggressive forms of cancer] without any of the painful side effects [of chemotherapy.]"In 2006, investigators at Madrid's Complutense University, School of Biology, reported in the British Journal of Cancer that THC administration decreases recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (brain) tumor growth in patients diagnosed with the disease.NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano praised the University of Wisconsin study. "Far from being cancer causing agents, cannabinoids may one day represent a new class of non-toxic anti-cancer drugs that can halt the spread of the disease without inducing the painful and life-threatening side effects of chemotherapy," he said.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul norml.orgFull text of the study, "Cannabinoids for cancer treatment: progress and promise," appears in Cancer Research. Additional information on the use of cannabinoids as potential anti-cancer agents is available in the online report "Cannabinoids as Cancer Hope" at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6814 DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7500 Nebraska: Legislature Considers ‘Recriminalizing’ Pot Possession Offenses January 31, 2008 - Lincoln, NE, USALincoln, NE: Nebraska lawmakers are considering legislation that would overturn the state’s long-standing marijuana decriminalization law and replace it with strict criminal punishments. As introduced, Legislative Bill 844 would raise penalties for minor marijuana possession from a civil citation (punishable by a $100 fine) to a class III misdemeanor – punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine, and attendance in a drug rehabilitation/educational program.The bill is currently before the Judiciary Committee. NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized the measure, stating: "Passage of LB 844 could potentially expose thousands of minor marijuana offenders to a variety of serious penalties – including probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of employment, loss of child custody, removal from subsidized housing, asset forfeiture, loss of federal student aid, and the loss of certain federal welfare benefits such as food stamps." A similar ‘recriminalization’ measure was rejected by the legislature in 2003.Nebraska is one of twelve states that have enacted marijuana decriminalization – replacing criminal sanctions with the imposition of fine-only penalties for minor pot violators. Four additional states – Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont – are considering enacting marijuana decriminalization measures this year.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup at (202) 483-5500. Additional information on LB 844 is available from NORML’s "Take Action" Center at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=10850536 DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7501Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: January 31, 2008Copyright: 2008 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #46 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 14:08:52 PT fight_4_freedom Glad you liked it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #45 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 13:07:23 PT: Thanks for the Obama links Extremely inspiring video. And yes that was one of the black eyed peas singing in the beginning. A lot of celebrities in that video.I'd have Obama signs out in my front yard if he would just say 4 simple words......STOP ARRESTING CANNABIS CONSUMERS! :) [ Post Comment ] Comment #44 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 11:17:54 PT Interesting view from Australia Opposition To Marijuana Up In Smokehttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n118/a04.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Comment #43 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 09:39:54 PT Interesting Video This video was on Obama's blog. I don't know if this is Black Eyed Peas or not. The creativity of young people today amazes me and gives me hope. They made a song to Obama's words.http://www.dipdive.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #42 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 09:30:01 PT fight_4_freedom This link has given me an idea on how he looks at issues that are important to me.http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #41 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 09:17:44 PT: I watched Dr. Paul say that on CNN. I was really moved by it. And that's why I decided to vote for him here in Michigan. [ Post Comment ] Comment #40 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 09:09:31 PT Fight 4 Freedom That's my hope, too. Obama being our next president could restore some respect for our country throughout the world. [ Post Comment ] Comment #39 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 09:07:47 PT The important words from that article: I attack two wars that blacks are suffering from. One, the war overseas. In all wars minorities suffer the most. So they join me in this position I have against the war in Iraq. And what about the war on drugs? What other candidate will stand up and say I will pardon all blacks, all whites, everybody who were convicted for non-violent drug acts and drug crimes. And this is where the real discrimination is. if you want to look for discrimination, it's the judicial system. So I am the antiracist because I am the only candidate, Republican or Democrat, who [wants to] protect the minority against these vicious drug laws. [ Post Comment ] Comment #38 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 09:02:50 PT: FoM Don't worry, I know you're not pushing him onto us. I really like a lot about him, and I want him to win because I truly feel that he could change how other people in other countries view us. I believe with him, we can regain some kind of respect and trust throughout the world.I just don't see how he can talk about his past drug use, like it was no big deal, but then fails to stand up against this inhumane war against Americans. We still have to hear from his mouth about how he truly feels at this point on our issues though. He hasn't said enough about either decrim or medical marijuana to get a true understanding of how he looks at those issues. If only they would dedicate 1% of the time during debates to talk about our issues, we'd know a lot more. But just by hearing short comments at townhall meetings doesn't really help.So let's hope they talk in depth about at least one of our issues today. [ Post Comment ] Comment #37 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 09:02:36 PT Smiling at the thought of that dream. That would be so beautiful. Obama with Paul to back him up as a strong vice president. That would just be so powerful and beautiful. It's a joy just to imagine it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #36 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 08:58:34 PT The next President... I figure that even if Ron Paul was to have everyone in the country vote for him... the Republicans would not let him be their candidate. I just hope someone notices that a lot of people agree with him about ending the punitiveness of the drug laws...and ESPECIALLY the cannabis laws.Except for Paul... the Republicans are all rabid prohibitionists. Aaaargh. I'm sick of their murder and mayhem. So, I'm still hoping in Obama. My Dream Ticket...a wild dream, I know.... Obama and Paul.Wow. A future for our country! We'd be blessed, I think.I'd love to see them stand together. [ Post Comment ] Comment #35 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 08:46:40 PT More on MTV - My Space Event Today Presidential Hopefuls Join AP, MTV, MySpace To Talk Youth Issueshttp://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--candidates-youthv0202feb02,0,2649180.story [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 08:27:13 PT fight_4_freedom I don't want you or anyone to think because I really like Obama that I want to push him on anyone. I believe we must vote according to what is important to us as individuals. I don't hate other candidates but come to my own conclusions after reading and watching about them in the newspapers and on tv news. It really is a personal issue. [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by Hope on February 02, 2008 at 07:58:17 PT Interesting http://counterpunch.org/cockburn01302008.htmlExcerpt: Among both Republicans and Democrats Ron Paul is the only one who talks with any passion about defending the Constitution and ending the war. It's true he should have been more vocal, denouncing those racist newsletters that went out over his letterhead, but one the other hand there's his forthright statement to Wolf Blitzer on CNN on January 10: I attack two wars that blacks are suffering from. One, the war overseas. In all wars minorities suffer the most. So they join me in this position I have against the war in Iraq. And what about the war on drugs? What other candidate will stand up and say I will pardon all blacks, all whites, everybody who were convicted for non-violent drug acts and drug crimes. And this is where the real discrimination is. if you want to look for discrimination, it's the judicial system. So I am the antiracist because I am the only candidate, Republican or Democrat, who [wants to] protect the minority against these vicious drug laws.Did anyone on the left, flailing away Paul, ever hold Dennis Kucinich's feet to the fire for all those years attacking choice, before his presidential ambitions prompted to jump the fence and change his views? Not for Kucinich the rigorous adherence to principle that prompted Paul to launch a nutty attack on social security to a mostly elderly audience in Florida. Small wonder he ended up arm wrestling Fred Thompson for fifth place. Still, even Giuliani, in his strange farewell address, confessed that "Ron Paul won every debate."So we advise Paul to quit wasting his money in the Republican money and instead to launch off as an independent or libertarian, denouncing the war and going to the inner cities on a redemption tour to talk about racism and the judicial process --which got significantly worse in Clinton time. The left keeps laboring the obvious, that Paul is not a leftist and has some bad positions. His posture on immigration is awful. But the Clinton record is substantively far, far worse, in terms of the terrible harvest reaped by NAFTA and the WTO and by Bill Clinton's own record on immigration and the treatment of Hispanics in the drug war. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 07:53:53 PT: Thanks for the Video It'll sure be interesting to see what happens tuesday. I think he'll come out on top. The young voters will really affect this election.FoM I want to get behind him, but he needs to clarify his stance on our issues before I can fully support him. Hopefully he'll do that today in front of the youth vote. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 07:49:11 PT About The Grateful Dead http://www.phillesh.net/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 07:36:35 PT fight_4_freedom I find it interesting that the top republicans won't even be involved. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 07:30:02 PT: Looks like we have a good chance to hear a question regarding our issue. Looks like the usual length of a normal debate, except we will have lots of different types of questions asked by the young voters (I'm hoping anyways). [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 07:29:04 PT fight_4_freedom This is a short video from Senator Obama's web site this morning. It's a long url so I used Tiny URL.America's Youth Come Together for Obama http://tinyurl.com/2m3ehh [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 07:17:54 PT More on MTV and My Space Event '08 Hopefuls To Talk With MTV, MySpace and The FixFebruary 1, 2008As regular reads of this blog know, The Fix has had the unique opportunity to partner with MTV and MySpace for a series of presidential dialogues with the 2008 presidential candidates.Tomorrow night marks the culmination of those dialogues with a 90-minute extravaganza featuring four of the six candidates still in the race -- Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) for the Democrats, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) for the Republicans. Like the previous presidential dialogues, the goal in this one is to let the candidates directly address the questions and concerns of young voters -- a key voting group whose power has grown exponentially in this election. All four candidates will appear via satellite and will take questions from a live audience from MTV's studio in New York City. The Fix, along with Gideon Yago, Sway, and the Associated Press's Phil Elliott, will moderate the proceedings.Interactivity is the name of the game in these dialogues. You can submit questions either though MySpace or MTV. You can also post questions you'd like asked of the candidates in the comments section below and we'll do our best to get one or two on the air.It all gets started at 6 p.m. ET tomorrow night on MTV. We'll also be streaming it live here on washingtonpost.com.Copyright: 2008 The Washington Post Company http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/02/mtv_myspace_and_the_fix.html?hpid=sec-politics [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 02, 2008 at 07:13:10 PT: Grateful Dead huh Wow! Seems kind of surprising. As soon as I came to the page and read your grateful dead comment, a second later this guy referred to this other guy as Jerry Garcia on this sitcom I have on. I mean literally one second after I read that! It kind of spooked me out lol.Hopefully they ask a cannabis question today. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 02, 2008 at 06:32:26 PT Sam #21 too Why take the chance on change candidates who demonstrate politics as usual when it comes down to it.?Because I don't want to vote for Hillary. Because there will be a medmj nickel and Iraq dime's worth of difference between the Dem and Rep. Because I've been logging Libertarian and Green and write-in protest votes for 20 years, and always said that if either of the major parties at least gave us a crumb, I'd vote for them. Which brings me back to, because I don't want to vote for Hillary.But I'm not sure I even want to vote for Obama, anymore. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 02, 2008 at 06:17:31 PT Sam #21 I want to hedge my bet. I think I'll vote Obama in the Dem Primary, go home, cut my hair, shave, put on a suit and go back and vote Rep for Paul. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 06:11:53 PT Wonderful News To Me Grateful Dead To Reunite for Obama Concerthttp://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN0147632420080202 [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 02, 2008 at 06:02:27 PT Friendly Reminder: MTV - My Space at 6 PM ET Today Maybe today we will see a question on drug policy. I am very happy that such a young liberal Senator actually might be our next president.The Grateful Dead just endorsed Obama! [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 02, 2008 at 05:47:00 PT Ron Paul Will Legalize. Why take the chance on change candidates who demonstrate politics as usual when it comes down to it. Ron Paul is the only candidate who will get the IRS out of our private financial lives and the DEA out of our medicine cabinets. Why would a progressive cannabis activist vote for anyone else? [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 02, 2008 at 05:15:44 PT Flip Flop Obama? "If you're convicted of a crime, you should be punished, but that we are sending far too many first-time, non-violent drug users to prison for very long periods of time, and that we should rethink those laws," (Obama spokesman Tommy) Vietor said......(So, it's okay to brag about getting away with the "crime" years later? Would Obama, Clinton, or Bush be forgiven for youthful muggings, rapes, or murders they'd gotten away with?).....everything we know about the major candidates' drug policy positions has emerged as a result of someone explicitly asking them. The tortured evolution of Obama's views on marijuana occurred only because this information was demanded of him. First, Bill Maher forced Chris Dodd to discuss the issue, resulting in Dodd's endorsement of marijuana decrim. Then, Tim Russert asked other democratic contenders whether they disagreed with Dodd. The front-runners sheepishly raised their hands in opposition to even mild marijuana reform. Finally, when the Washington Times forced Obama to clarify his conflicting positions, Obama's campaign briefly endorsed reform before finally concluding that they opposed decrim even though they're still not sure what it is.The conventional wisdom among my colleagues seems to be that Obama "gets" the drug war issue. Everything he says and does can be attributed to his presidential aspirations, I'm told, and we should be grateful that he at least flirts with criminal justice reform. That's fine as far as it goes, but I continue to question the fundamental political wisdom of refusing to talk about marijuana. It's an issue people care about. It's an issue that gets headlines. And it's an issue that's been handled about as poorly as one could possibly imagine for a long long time.http://tinyurl.com/ytzkw7(Edited with my parenthetic comment added.) Nevermind, Barack Obama Wants to Arrest Marijuana Users After All [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by afterburner on February 02, 2008 at 00:29:53 PT In Canada, First Nations Are Sovereign... Having Not Been Conquered in War Nor Given Up Their Territory by Treaty."Sovereignty is the exclusive right to complete control over an area of governance, people, or oneself. A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority, subject to no other." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SovereigntyThe RCMP conducted a marijuana grow-op raid on the Pasqua First Nation:CN SN: Court Hears of Nighttime Raid of Grow-Op, The StarPhoenix, (30 Jan 2008) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v08/n114/a01.html?176Four RCMP snipers? Snipers? Snipers against cannabis?How is this cannabis marijuana use and production different from First Nations tobacco, casinos, or war surplus weapons -- all of which have been allowed by the Canadian government to sovereign First Nations? [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by Celaya on February 01, 2008 at 19:08:15 PT rchandar What is the difference between Republicans and Democrats? Democrat Bill Clinton raised the persecution of marijuana consumers to new heights. -- Then mumbled about how he thought marijuana should be legalized as he was LEAVING office. The Democrats were supposed to extricate us from Iraq after they achieved majority in the last election. Funny how that hasn't happened. We get an escalation instead. Democrat John Kerry knew what he was up against after watching Bush steal the presidency in 2000. But he nary wimpered when Bush did it to him, after millions of volunteers worked their hearts out.The first thing the new Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said was "Impeachment is off the table!" When no president in history has deserved to be impeached more than Bush. The big corporations finance both sides near equally. So what difference do you think there will be if a Democrat wins? [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by rchandar on February 01, 2008 at 15:56:44 PT: Celaya ...and that would be a mistake. a vote for Nader is really a vote for the Republican candidate. I understand your personal convictions are outlined here, but unless Nader has a chance of really winning, it's a vote for the Republican. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Celaya on February 01, 2008 at 12:58:56 PT Trust To me, the choice for president is largely about trust. I measure each candidate on how well they can be trusted to look out for the welfare of the people. If we can't expect even a small degree of trust in that, there is no point in voting for anyone.With the withdrawal of Edwards, Nader is now looking at entering the race. I may have to vote for him again, if he does. He would be the only one I have any trust in. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 01, 2008 at 12:42:08 PT Celaya Obama is a politician. It will be him or Clinton. No one comes close to either of them. For me personally trust isn't something that I have for people in general but only family and close friends. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Celaya on February 01, 2008 at 12:35:57 PT Uh-Oh This may to good to be true. From the Drug War Chronicle - a few comments down:"When confronted with the statements on the video, Obama's campaign offered two explanations to the Times in less than 24 hours. At first, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said that the candidate had "always" supported decriminalizing marijuana, suggesting his 2004 statement was correct. Then after the Times posted copies of the video on its Web site today, his campaign reversed course and declared he does not support eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession and use."http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2008/jan/31/barack_obama_comes_out_in_favor_Seems Obama is pure politician and says whatever he thinks will get him the most votes. Sorry, I don't trust him. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 01, 2008 at 08:45:53 PT Commonsense Thank you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Commonsense on February 01, 2008 at 08:35:56 PT Taylor121 "I'm extremely excited that a frontrunner is actually talking about decriminalization. Regardless of if Obama wins or not, this is history in the making for what many of us have been hoping and striving for."Jimmy Carter had people feeling the same way 30 years ago or so. Legalization was just around the corner, or so it seemed.That said, when it comes to marijuana issues Obama is no doubt the best candidate who has a real chance of actually becoming president. I don't see Congress and the Senate approving decriminalization in the next four years, but the executive branch would be friendliest under Obama I would think, and if there was a chance of getting any marijuana friendly legislation through the houses of Congress, at least he probably wouldn't veto it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 01, 2008 at 06:50:26 PT Pot Heads are Lazy Really? I work our every day because, in order to alleviate the ignorance of a Society that seeks to destroy anyone for a multitude of reasons, we have to be better physically fit, better educated and more successful than the marijuana prohibitionists. Fortunately, this is rarly a problem. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by ekim on January 31, 2008 at 20:19:00 PT thank Dennis the mennis and Dodd and to bad for Mike Gravel he should be heard if he is still running -- shame on cnn or for that matter sen Clinton and Obama could have said --hey include him too-is Nader getting in -- Edwards for labor sec-- did anyone see Jerry Brown in the house-- did see SF Mayor-Jack Herer could be interviewed by Obama in a add for CA on Green Jobs for farmers and high end products and processes.see huge reward Jack is offering for anyone to prove otherwise kinnda like project x inreverse we burrel down in the grownd and make something grow at the speed of sound -- but you have to listen closly http://www.jackherer.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Truth on January 31, 2008 at 19:26:31 PT two words Dr. Paul [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 31, 2008 at 19:09:52 PT fight_4_freedom I agree. The issues are important but we know how they feel about them by now. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 31, 2008 at 19:03:36 PT: How come they don't ask questions other than the same ones we've been hearing for months? And some of the questions are just ridiculous. Why can't they ask questions about issues that aren't talked about? I swear sometimes I want to smack that beard right off of Wolf Blizters face. Sorry. Just needed to vent a little. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Taylor121 on January 31, 2008 at 17:36:24 PT Obama news I'm extremely excited that a frontrunner is actually talking about decriminalization. Regardless of if Obama wins or not, this is history in the making for what many of us have been hoping and striving for. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 31, 2008 at 16:59:42 PT Lol! "I'd do a cartwheel but if I fell I'd probably break something...". [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 31, 2008 at 16:50:17 PT: Yes it is And with the new HD I'm sure it'll make it an even better experience :) I'm happy for you.And hey, mental cartwheels are just as good lol.I'm preparing for the debate and watchin' out the window for the snow to begin falling. Another 6+ inches tonight! Woo Hoo! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 31, 2008 at 16:44:57 PT fight_4_freedom Thank you. Tonights debate is history in the making. I am so excited. I get to watch it on my new tv too! Yippie! I'd do a cartwheel but if I fell I'd probably break something so I'll do one in my mind! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 31, 2008 at 16:28:14 PT: It's good to see you so excited FoM Barack Obama Comes Out in Favor of Marijuana DecriminalizationPosted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 7:31pmFor the first time since his presidential bid began, the Obama Campaign has clarified the Senator's position on marijuana: stop arresting people for it.The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise after Obama recently raised his hand in opposition to marijuana decrim at a recent democratic debate. Seeking to paint him as a flip-flopper, The Washington Times dug up footage of a 2004 appearance in which Obama said this: "I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws," Mr. Obama told an audience during a debate at Northwestern University in 2004. Obama's campaign is now standing by this earlier statement, claiming that the Senator has "always" supported marijuana decriminalization. This actually makes sense, because Obama's apparent opposition to decrim during the debate was triggered by a badly worded question from Tim Russert. As I said at the time, this all goes to show how a cheap soundbite approach to the marijuana discussion trivializes the issue and obscures any real difference of opinion.Fortunately, now that Obama's position has been made perfectly clear, we face the possibility of a full-on marijuana debate between front-running presidential candidates. It could begin as soon as this evening during Obama's long-anticipated one-on-one face off with Hillary Clinton. Absent that, an Obama nomination would guarantee republican attacks on the marijuana issue, inevitably sucking this discussion into the political mainstream where it belongs.Jacob Sullum argues correctly that decrim is a remarkably soft position by drug reform standards, but that fact will surely be lost on the blood-thirsty political attack machine that will be directed at Obama if he receives the democratic nomination. And I for one welcome every last nasty morsel of it, lest the debate over recreational marijuana use in America should be excluded entirely from presidential politics yet again.Weak as it may be, Obama's is the best position on the marijuana issue taken by a viable presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter. Drug War Chronicle [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 31, 2008 at 15:59:55 PT I Am Really Happy Go Obama!!! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment