cannabisnews.com: Whiff of Change in US Medical Marijuana Policy
Whiff of Change in US Medical Marijuana Policy
Posted by CN Staff on February 07, 2009 at 10:00:15 PT
By Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
Washington, DC -- The White House won't say it explicitly. Neither will the Drug Enforcement Administration. Yet there is a whiff in the air that U.S. policy is about to change when it comes to medical marijuana. The message is clear, said UCLA professor Mark Kleiman, a former Justice Department official and an expert on crime and drug policy."It is no longer federal policy to beat up on hippies," said Kleiman. Tell that to the DEA.
In California this past week, agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles and seized 500 pounds of pot."It's a little bit surprising, because I think current DEA management didn't get the message," said Kleiman. "The message is, this is no longer drug warrior time. We are not on a cultural crusade against pot-smoking."California law permits the sale of marijuana for medical purposes, though it is still against federal law.Thirteen states have laws permitting medicinal use of marijuana. California is unique among them for the presence of dispensaries, businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Legal under California law, such dispensaries are still illegal under federal law."Anyone possessing, distributing or cultivating marijuana for any reason is in violation of federal law," Sarah Pullen, a DEA spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said Thursday.That may be the law, but it contradicts the medical marijuana position of the new president."The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro, repeating past statements.So on Friday, DEA officials in Washington declined to comment at all on the subject.As a presidential candidate, Obama repeatedly promised a change in federal drug policy in situations where state laws allow use of medical marijuana."I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate," Obama told the Mail Tribune of Medford, Ore., in March.A year earlier at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Obama said: "I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users."At age 47, Obama is part of a generation that had plenty of exposure to pot.In his memoir, "Dreams from My Father," he described time spent as a youth struggling with questions about his race and identity, and turning to drugs -- including marijuana and cocaine -- to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."The new president is unlikely to make any official change in policy before he has a new DEA chief and drug czar in place.Yet experts believe it is already clear the Obama administration will change the strategy, if not the law, on medical marijuana.Philip Heymann, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration who is now a Harvard professor, said it's time for the agency to put more effort into fighting drugs more dangerous than marijuana."I do expect him to appoint an administrator who takes marijuana less seriously than is traditional for the DEA, as I think most Americans do," said Heymann.Heymann said he expects the Obama administration will eventually instruct the DEA to emphatically scale back raids on dispensaries, and conduct such raids only in instances where investigators believe a business is abusing the dispensary system as a cover for other criminal behavior.So last week's raids in California may be the last of their kind."The DEA's not likely to want to confront a new president," said Heymann. "It may simply be that they're behaving as they have traditionally, and they haven't anticipated the change Obama and his spokesman are signaling."Associated Press writer Michael Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer Published: February 7, 2009 Copyright: 2009 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #95 posted by unkat27 on February 10, 2009 at 21:10:43 PT
Time to make a Case to Change Policy
Maybe its time the federal law that lets the feds conduct raids on medical mj clubs and deny patients their "medicine" should be over-turned by human rights which guarantee patients the right to treatment by doctors and medicine. The feds are claiming that the law stands because it is the law, but it could be easily over-turned and rendered unjust upon the basis that it violates "human rights" to medical treatment.
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Comment #94 posted by FoM on February 10, 2009 at 08:08:25 PT
A Song I Heard On YouTube
I heard this song when I finally watched Sicko the other night and I thought others might want to hear it too.The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) - "Alone Without You"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVyNM5mknnc
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Comment #93 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 19:52:32 PT
fight_4_freedom
Thank you. I sent an e-mail to him.
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Comment #92 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 09, 2009 at 19:37:15 PT
I shot you an e-mail FoM
His e-mail is included.Thanks
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Comment #91 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 19:33:40 PT
fight_4_freedom
I looked and he isn't blocked. I'll try his registration email I found when I looked.
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Comment #90 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 19:31:03 PT
fight_4_freedom
I wondered where he has been. I didn't block him.
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Comment #89 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 09, 2009 at 18:56:48 PT
My apologies to you all if this was already posted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv1EvLn8-2EPro Wrestler and Cannabis Activist Rob Van Dam speaks about Michael Phelps on Geraldo at large.I received this link from RevRayGreen on myspace. He said he has been trying to log in here but something is wrong with his password.FoM, I have your e-mail here somewhere so I will send you his e-mail address once I find yours.
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Comment #88 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 18:45:39 PT
john wayne
It's nice to see you. I don't think it works like that at least not for me. I believe faith without works is dead. If I didn't believe that I would have stopped doing news many years ago.
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Comment #87 posted by john wayne on February 09, 2009 at 18:31:05 PT
church on time
Well, maybe if we just trust in Yaweh and Jesus, all will be well.
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Comment #86 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 16:34:02 PT
fight_4_freedom
I'm sure he won't either because it's about our messed up economy. Basically CNN said that the DEA said Pot Shops are illegal and for profit so the raids will continue. I never thought they were legal. I couldn't connect the dots. I didn't get any impression that medical marijuana patients following Prop 215 are in any jeopardy. So people in states with mmj laws should be fine and to me that's a miracle. I'd be happy if my state had that.
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Comment #85 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 09, 2009 at 16:21:16 PT
It would be nice if he mentioned these raids
during his speech tonight. But I know that is just wishful thinking on my part.
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Comment #84 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 14:57:34 PT
One More Comment
They showed the Obama video on CNN and different people like Angel Raich and a man from the Drug Policy Alliance that I didn't recognize and pot shops. It only seems that they will continue going after Pot Shops because they are for profit they said. I wasn't lead to believe that they will go after mmj patients.
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Comment #83 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 14:02:13 PT
CNN on Pot Shops
They just said the raids will continue on pot shops on CNN. Pot shops are against Federal law they said. I was troubleshooting my computer so hopefully someone else heard the whole interview.
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Comment #82 posted by tintala on February 09, 2009 at 09:27:31 PT:
THEY BETTER DECRIM IT VERY VERY SOON
Because our economy is deseperate. It's getting more despereate by the day! One day Obama will wake up and say "ITS TIME". This absurd federal spending is gona kick the government in the balls very soon. if not already. So therefore, they will have to approach it in a logical fashion, and regualate it just like alcohol. The economy meltdown should provide the golden runway for this to take off! HEMP AND REC MJ, will pave the way to economic redemption. Just imagine if mj would create all those jobs, what would hemp do? SO combine rec and med mj, with hemp industry and you have a 100 billion dollar jumpstart. MAYBE MORE! the need to wake up , NOW!
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Comment #81 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 08:35:06 PT
News Article From The Huffington Post
Phelps and Obama -- Leading the Way Towards Legalizing MarijuanaFebruary 9, 2009URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-kall/phelps-and-obama----leadi_b_164654.html
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Comment #80 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 08:08:52 PT
Rainbow
I hope your Republican Governor doesn't stop it again.Marijuana Bill To Be Introduced at State Capitolhttp://kstp.com/article/stories/S778891.shtml
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Comment #78 posted by Rainbow on February 09, 2009 at 07:55:30 PT
Thanks!!!!!
Thank you very much. Minnesota (not in NORMl list) has introduced Med cannabis again this year. We have doubters :-)
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Comment #77 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 07:42:46 PT
Storm Crow
I just added your master link to my page. Now I will be able to find it and maybe it will help others too.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm
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Comment #76 posted by charmed quark on February 09, 2009 at 07:27:08 PT
correlation is not causation
More semi-junk science. They ask about drinking, cigarette smoking and cannabis use and find the increase in a very rare testicular cancer in the cannabis users. These self-reported studies are fraught with unconsidered cofactors and incorrect self-reporting and are almost useless. Plus it's a very rare cancer, so the variation in the groups probably doesn't reach statistical significance.As I testified to my state, so many studies have been done looking for negative sieffects from medical cannabis that no pharmaceutical drug comes even close. Unfortunately, a lot of the research is junk science. But once you filter out the junk and do metastudies on the research, you have to conclude this is one very safe drug.Now there's even starting to be research (mostly outside of the US) looking for positive effects of cannabis. Recently, I wrote a brief report showing that more peer-reviewed, double blind trials have been done on cannabis for neuropathic pain then have been done on the first line pharmaceutical drug, Neurontin. There's enough cannabis research for a very good metastudy and hardly anything for Neurotin. And the metastudy shows slightly better pain relief with cannabis, and much fewer side effects, than the Neurontin studies show.
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Comment #75 posted by Storm Crow on February 09, 2009 at 07:19:51 PT
Here's the link to the Master list...
http://medicalmarijuanapatient.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65Or just run a search on "Granny Storm Crow's list- 2009" for the list at other sites. Glad to see it being used!
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Comment #74 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 07:09:55 PT
Rainbow There She Is
Ask away!
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Comment #73 posted by Storm Crow on February 09, 2009 at 07:08:23 PT
Well, there was this study about dosages...
The study linked below suggests that low doses of cannabis may speed the growth of certain cancers, while a higher dosage kills the cancer cells. Could their study have been full of casual, low level users? It would be interesting to give the cancer victims a high dosage and see what happens! http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/64/6/1943
Cannabinoids Induce Cancer Cell Proliferation via Tumor Necrosis Factor {alpha}-Converting Enzyme (TACE/ADAM17)-Mediated Transactivation of the Epidermal Growth Factor ReceptorAnd for those who don't speak "Sci" here's my translation of it to English! Just from the title, you can tell this is a toughie to read! "We find that low doses of THC (like when we give low dosage THC pills) may speed the growth of some cancers, even though higher doses, like you get with smoking, has been shown to kill cancers. Cannabis-based drugs are now being used in several trial studies. Grand and Gandi found one case where a heavy pot smoker had trouble with his pancreas and blamed it on the pot. Smoking THC works better than other methods. Cannabis pills and suppositories give you anywhere between 1/8 to 3/8 as much THC in your system as smoking- which isn't enough and might cause the cancers to grow. But smoking DOES deliver enough! The level of dosage is important- we found taking deep hits and holding it, worked. We are worried that using Big Pharma's low dose THC pills/suppositories might cause some cancers to grow faster during studies."Well kids, the obvious answer is not to take the doc's expensive, but wimpy, THC pills (and suppositories ), but toke good pot often so your THC levels stay up over 300 nM! This study also gives more credence to Rick Simpson's "Hemp oil" with its massive dose of cannabinoids to fight cancers.Granny
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Comment #72 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 07:02:34 PT
Rainbow
We don't have a very good search tool so when I type in her name all her comments or posts come up. If you give it a try you might be able to find the links but it might take a little while of searching.
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Comment #71 posted by Rainbow on February 09, 2009 at 06:54:54 PT
posted
She posted it here at one time - this is where I linked to it at home.It is a good link as she has most med cannabis studies listed.Thanks,
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Comment #70 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 06:53:34 PT
Rainbow
I think that Storm Crow posts her links on different forums. I don't believe she has a web site so I'm not sure how to find them. Maybe she will see this post and post a link.
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Comment #69 posted by Rainbow on February 09, 2009 at 06:49:14 PT
Storms web site
FOM Do you have the link to Storm's list of Medical studies on cannabis?It would help me in showing people.Thanks
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Comment #68 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 06:38:40 PT
runruff
I know what you mean. Why don't they tell us about legal prescription drugs and side effects? After watching Sicko last night I am ashamed at how they make us afraid of everything to control us. When I see an oh my god expression I tune out anymore.
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Comment #67 posted by runruff on February 09, 2009 at 06:33:36 PT
I remember when they said.............
....that cannabis grew breast on men...............and monkeys fly out of your butt....
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Comment #66 posted by FoM on February 09, 2009 at 06:22:24 PT
Where Are The Bodies If This Is True?
Marijuana Linked to Aggressive Testicular CancerFebruary 9, 2009URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090209/hl_hsn/marijuanalinkedtoaggressivetesticularcancer
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Comment #65 posted by Hope on February 08, 2009 at 21:39:13 PT
comment 60
Great. That's all we need is more allies over there.We were allied with Osama Bin Laden before he was our enemy. We were allied with the Taliban right before it became our enemy. Now we want to be allied with Iran?I don't know. Kind of seems like maybe a bad idea, maybe... to me.What happened to Senlis?
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Comment #64 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 21:09:50 PT
museman
I hope everything works out ok for you and your family.
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Comment #63 posted by museman on February 08, 2009 at 20:13:34 PT
OT: but yet....
Ok,I didn't think I was going to have to talk about this, but as it seems to be escalating, I have to bring you all into the loop, and this is the best thread, because I am looking at the very real possibility that I might be one of those last hippies being 'beaten up.' Only my 'crime' and their motivation, seems to be about some kind of revenge for a poem I wrote.Yes, I've been mostly laughing about it too.Two days ago I recieved a very junevile threat from my contact on my website. At first I thought it was related to some of the anger/reaction to some of my posts here, but I have had that clarified for me.It turns out to be the son of a sheriff who busted me almost 30 years ago, who didn't like the poem about his father, and he has been making vague and general threats against me via myspace, facebook, and my own web contact.As of a few moments ago -which prompted me to make this public, recorded statement, he threw another at me, this one I can repeat because the language isn't off the charts in vugarity; "What do you think the cops in (My Town) would do if they knew what you thought of one of their own?"(Now, I'm sorry, but that wording sure sounds like a threat to me.)Of course I had to reply to that, so I did. My reply was, "I don't know, why don't you ask them?"Now of course, you and I know that none of these cops have any legal reason to hassle me, unless freedom of speech has taken the dive along with just about everything else, but thats never stopped their 'bust down the door' mentality before.I am posting this as pre-evidence, that should they manage to manufacture a 'legal' reason for busting down my door, the real reason is some kind of cop revenge, not whatever they manufacture.Heres hoping prevention works.Heres the poem,
http://www.terryhubbard.com/poetry/Virgil.htmand my response to date
LEGALIZE FREEDOM
Virgil Knight
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Comment #62 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 19:16:03 PT
Sicko
I know I am behind the times in not seeing Sicko until now. I bought the DVD for Christmas and we just finished watching it. Man oh man what a movie. God helps us to learn to care like some other countries do. That's all.
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Comment #61 posted by Sam Adams on February 08, 2009 at 19:03:13 PT
medicine
of course we can't just let them grow opium in Afganistan - peace might break out! They might actually work with us instead of being forced to welcome the Taliban.Now we can't have a stable Mideast breaking out! Where would that leave the defense contractors?One Note on this article - The criticism of dispensaries ALWAYS seems hypocritical - I love this latest twist - some dispensaries offer a free gram to first time visitors! Oh my god, they must be evil.Like every doctor in whole country doesn't play trick-or-treat with free samples! Are you kidding me - they give you a free sample for an entire month of Prozac!
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Comment #60 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 18:31:00 PT:
OT, DrugWarriors heading into A-stan
U.S. to Target Afghan Drug Trade http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123413060680861197.html?mod=googlenews_wsjWhat this means is that the US is going to try to do in Afghanistan what it has tried to do in Colombia. The only difference is that this time it won't be helpless peasants sprayed with poisons with impunity; we'll be facing dedicated and seasoned fighters willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of their religion and tribe, and they've proven quite capable at guerilla warfare. And going after their primary cash crop, when the vast majority of them are subsistence farmers due to poor soil, will motivate them to new heights of murderous zeal. Especially if the NATO forces try to spray the crops with defoliants; the Afghans have bitter memories of when the Sovs used chemical weapons on them with horrifying results. If any spray chopper pilots are captured, they better pray for a quick death. For as Rudyard Kipling wrote over a century ago:When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier. Doesn't anyone, anyone, read history books? That place has not been governable since Alexander the Great's time, and to think we can control it when every empire in the world has tried and failed is more of Albert Einstein's definition of insanity at work.
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Comment #59 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 18:01:03 PT:
Museman, I do indeed 'pay attention'
But the background I came from is completely different from most people. I won't go into why, but FoM knows a lot of it, and can verify I was never a 'hippie'. Such things as the Rainbow Gatherings only register with me because our opponents, the prohibs, seem to take exceptional delight in causing them misery. That's it, I'm afraid. It's too...alien...an existence for me. But I respect their right to live as they choose so long as they harm no one, and that makes them allies. Just another small part which comprises the spectrum of the cannabist 'minority' that crosses all demographics...and if it could ever be welded together into a politically effective coalition, would be unstoppable out of sheer numbers.
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Comment #58 posted by charmed quark on February 08, 2009 at 15:49:12 PT
Hippie Test
I took the hippie test and got this result: "You scored 133, Wow man, now I don't want to put any labels on you, but you're absolutely a hippie!"I figured my short hair and conventional lifestyle would make me anti-hippie. But I guess you can take the hippie out of the 60s but you can't take the 60s out of the hippie.A real hippie, of course, would never take a test :-)
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Comment #57 posted by museman on February 08, 2009 at 13:05:14 PT
Kaptin -slightly OT
Just to let you know -if you haven't been paying attention-the bona fides gather every year from the four corners of the country and the earth to attend a phenomenal event called The Rainbow Gathering. Throughout the rest of the year they can be found at country fairs, barter fairs, some SCA events, and or working in their gardens.And there is a new generation that came of age just a few years ago.I myself fought against the hippy label for years, until just recently, but in every descriptive term associated with the term, except one, I am one. That one thing is colorful clothing, I've always been a plain clothes kind of guy, and my 'colors' only come out for special occasions.You should go see. This years gathering will be somewhere in New Mexico. I am going to try real hard to make it this year myself. Alex Jones is supposed to be there along with a camera crew to catch the feds if they attack again like last year.Just thought you might like to know....LEGALIZE FREEDOM
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Comment #56 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 12:05:29 PT
Kaptinemo On A Lighter Side
You said you never really met a Hippie so I went and did a test to see if I was a Hippie. I am a 59% Hippie so you met over a half a Hippie. LOL!
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Comment #55 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 11:43:23 PT
Kaptinemo
If they can finally get the Stimulus Package passed Obama will be able to move on into other matters and in time it will be our issue. It took until August of 2001 to get Asa Hutchinson and December to get John Walters. I think the DEA has a few more months to finish up what they probably have been working on for a couple years. Once the past administration is over and we have a new DEA head and Drug Czar I hope to see change but I am negative about change until then.
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Comment #54 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 11:35:00 PT:
FoM, I beg to differ
I believe what we are seeing is the last flailing of the Bush Administration's culture warriors, viciously taking a last slap at the faces of their ideological opponents. Cannabis has always symbolized everything such people believe is wrong in America...or should I say, 'Murikah'. (The two are not necessarily the same.) But I also see what looks like a testing of Mr. Obama: will he come down hard on those who've acted in direct opposite of what he stated that he did want to happen, namely, the dispensary raids? Or will he, in a 'spirit of bipartisanship' (recall that Grover Norquist, arch-Bushite, compared bipartisanship to date rape...and he intended the Republicans to be the rapists) let this slide to avoid being called 'soft on crime'?Most people have forgotten what happened to the Bush Administration in its' very early days, with the Chinese attacking a US intel aircraft, and forcing it to land with all the lovely spook technology goodies intact. IMHO, the humiliation of that caused Bush to become even more dangerously bellicose than he was normally, and may have led to the Iraq War as overcompensation at not looking weak. That was a test. And Bush failed it.This biz with the dispensaries looks to me like a test, too. An internal one, the neocons daring Obama to do something which would allow them to make the 'soft on crime' epithet stick. If Obama doesn't show the Bush-poisoned bureaucracy who's boss, and soon, then more problems will magically appear to bedevil him. Removing Leonhart would be a signal for the fifth columnists to sit down and STFU. Let's hope he does so...
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Comment #53 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 11:18:27 PT
kaptinemo
This transition between a new DEA head and new Drug Czar might keep catching people in a snare I think. I don't believe the raids are over. They might even ramp up while they can I'm afraid to say. They appear to be trying to get to the big guys.
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Comment #52 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 11:09:45 PT:
FoM, DEA is part of the Executive Branch
Meaning, it's under the direct control of the President. Any director of DEA 'serves at the President's pleasure', but the problem here is that Ms. Leonhart is only a caretaker. That's all, and most care-takers would not wipe their backsides without asking for permission, in hopes the care-taker status is changed to permanent stewardship. That she should try this kind of stunt after President Obama made public his belief that Fed resources should not be used in Med-Cann raids smacks of political gamesmanship. But Leonhart is a bureaucrat, not in the same league as the kind of person who's advising Obama on foreign policy. That guy is a real, honest-to-Yahweh chessmaster, and nobody you'd want to cross swords with. Leonhart would be out of her league, and is, actually. Why she did this is probably explained by the belief that she thinks she can use her job as a shield against criticism from the new Administration. If Mr. Obama lets this slide, it's a signal to "let all the poisons that lurk in the mud, hatch out!" And Bush left a lot of that 'poison' in the 'mud' with all those holdovers. I can only hope he'll have a nice, quiet little chat with Ms. Leonhart and let her know he's none too happy, given what he's said publicly and how what she did makes him look a fool. That would be a signal to the other fifth columnists that if they cause trouble, they're out.These raids were not the brightest of moves, but what to you expect from the DEA?
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Comment #51 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 10:51:14 PT
Kaptinemo
Thank you. I really don't know how this would work. I guess I thought the DEA did what it wanted without Presidential supervision.
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Comment #50 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 10:44:17 PT:
FoM, I don't know enough just yet
I'm leery, though, that a place at the table might be provided for the DEA. The problem has always been that the DEA has been riddled through and through with CIA 'moles' for years, if not decades. Said' moles' have their own CIA-supplied agenda, and as ex-DEA Agents like Michael Levine and Celerino Castillo could tell you, that agenda was at cross-purposes to the public one of drug 'enforcement', such as interfering with local governments and the support of opposition parties within those countries, whose own agendas were little more than maintaining a wealthy elite in power. That some of that 'support' entailed enabling local drug dealing is a well-known fact, given all the books written as far back as 1971; recall 'Air America'. That was the complaint of both the present Venezuelan and Bolivian governments, hence their ejection of DEA from their soil. They might as well run a line through the DEA place card on the National Security Council table, and write CIA over it, and set two chairs for the CIA. The suggested arrangement would reflect the reality of the situation. A reality which I have no doubt grates on Ms. Leonhart's sensibilities, but she is forced to accept, as she is impotent to do anything about it; she's reduced to only being able to ruin sick people's days with this dispensary raiding nonsense. Pathetic.
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Comment #49 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 10:16:48 PT
Kaptinemo a Question
What do you think about this? It seems to me it means President Obama doesn't want the DEA to do it's own thing without accountability if they want to check up.***Excerpt: The council, which was established after World War Two to advise U.S. presidents on military and diplomatic matters, would become "dramatically different" after the overhaul, national security adviser James Jones told the paper in an interview."The world that we live in has changed so dramatically in this decade that organizations that were created to meet a certain set of criteria no longer are terribly useful," Jones, a retired Marine general, was quoted as saying.He said sections of the government not traditionally part of the council would be brought in on a case-by-case basis -- he named the Energy Department, Commerce Department and Treasury, and all the law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration.URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090208/pl_nm/us_obama_security
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Comment #48 posted by kaptinemo on February 08, 2009 at 10:08:58 PT:
The irresistable force approaching the immovable
object...or is it immovable?The long simmering 'culture war' between classic liberals (what would nowadays be described as 'libertarians' with a lower case 'l') and (Neo)conservatives boiled over in the Bush Years. What had been muttered about quietly in neocon circles was finally shouted. What was threatened was finally acted upon. Recall what was written in the indictment of Tommy Chong:"...glamorizing the illegal use and distribution of marijuana and trivializing law-enforcement efforts to combat drug use.” (emphasis mine - k.)The neocons thought they had finally been given the green light to use the resources of government to put the screws to the 'hippies' (even though I haven't seen a bona fide example of Hippius Americanus in the wild for over 30 years) once and for all, hence the Bush Administration's strange preoccupation with attacking anything (and anyone) having to do with cannabis.But now, the neocons are on the outs, and for a plethora of reasons. But the neocon disease still sits festering in the political machinery, courtesy of all the Bush holdovers who wait, like the 'fifth columnists' of old http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_column to cause trouble for the new Administration. Perfect examples of that festering is in the refusal of people like Mary Beth Buchanan, the prosecutor who hounded Tommy Chong, to resign her post, as is the usual practice with a change of Administrations. Multiply that by the number of Bush Administration culture warrior holdovers in the civil service, and you have a recipe for disaster, tailor-made to erupt during a critical moment for the new Administration and cause serious trouble, all while facetiously claiming that they are only 'doing their jobs'. Such believe that they can remain behind, gumming up the works, and if there are attempts to remove them, they believe that they can scream that they are being unfairly targeted, again, for 'just doing their jobs'. What do you want to bet that Michele Leonhart, current head of the DEA, isn't thinking along the same lines? That she thinks that she can scream that the Obama Administration is 'soft on crime' if President Obama tells her to lay off the California dispensaries?When dealing with an topical infection, bleach and alcohol, no matter how much they sting, are the best topical antiseptics to use in getting rid of germs. It hurts a little, but the pain soon goes away. But when the infection is allowed to continue, it will deepen and spread, and cause more trouble. When the infection is on the surface, it's easy to get at. When it's already in the body of the organism, then it gets harder to clean it out. Considering the damage the 'infection' that was the Bush Administration has caused here and elsewhere, it's foolish to believe that it can be allowed to continue to work its' evil. Mr. Obama should apply some political disinfectant, and real soon, lest that 'infection' flare up and cause him and the rest of us more misery...
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Comment #47 posted by runruff on February 08, 2009 at 09:35:29 PT
Puff the magic drag-on!
I meant to say!
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Comment #46 posted by runruff on February 08, 2009 at 09:33:41 PT
Puff the magic drang-on!
80% budget WoD goes to the prohibition of cannabis.Legalize cannabis and the DEA will melt away like snow on a hillside in may.
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Comment #45 posted by unkat27 on February 08, 2009 at 09:20:10 PT
I'll believe it when I see it
Jeesh.... sorry to rain on your party, but I've seen signals like this for too long and none of them ever panned out positive. I'll believe it when I see it. "Philip Heymann, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration who is now a Harvard professor, said it's time for the agency to put more effort into fighting drugs more dangerous than marijuana."If the DEA stops fighting a war on cannabis, it'll have more than half of it's agents doing desk-jobs, itching to get out and do something. Without cannabis, there is no war on drugs, there's just a bunch of minor skirmishes. The fascist federalist knew this when they promoted cannabis as the "gateway drug" in the early 80s. Without it on the illegal list with Heroin and cocaine, 50 percent of the DEA will be on the unemployment line, taking jobs with Blackwater or prison security.
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Comment #44 posted by Hope on February 08, 2009 at 09:13:54 PT
Subway
Their prepared trays are good for parties, family, and friend get togethers, and are very nice for help and comfort for family's suffering the terrible burden of a death.
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Comment #43 posted by potpal on February 08, 2009 at 08:34:17 PT
in the news
LEAP...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norm-stamper/one-cop-to-another-dont-a_b_164346.html
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 08:33:43 PT
Obama To Revamp National Security Council: Report
February 8, 2009Excerpt: The council, which was established after World War Two to advise U.S. presidents on military and diplomatic matters, would become "dramatically different" after the overhaul, national security adviser James Jones told the paper in an interview."The world that we live in has changed so dramatically in this decade that organizations that were created to meet a certain set of criteria no longer are terribly useful," Jones, a retired Marine general, was quoted as saying.He said sections of the government not traditionally part of the council would be brought in on a case-by-case basis -- he named the Energy Department, Commerce Department and Treasury, and all the law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration.URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090208/pl_nm/us_obama_security
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Comment #41 posted by BGreen on February 08, 2009 at 08:21:29 PT
4 ---------- 4:20 -------------- 4:20 Foot long :)
Subway hath redeemed itself and I have removed them from my boycott list.Pretty smart move for a company with an entire ad campaign based around a formerly obese food addict (no offense, Jared.)The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 07:15:07 PT
Hope
It sure is! LOL!
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Comment #39 posted by Hope on February 08, 2009 at 07:11:12 PT
FoM Comment 37
Who?Lol!Our music experience is wide and varied. Is it not?
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 07:08:20 PT
Marijuana Ingredient Cuts Lung Cancer Growth
Marijuana Ingredient Cuts Lung Cancer Growth, SpreadFebruary 7, 2009URL: http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/marijuana-ingredient-cuts-lung-cancer-growth-spread-18538.html
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 06:48:39 PT
Anyone Remember Lawrence Welk?
"Toking" with Lawrence Welkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 06:17:28 PT
For Us Old Hippies! LOL!
Old Hippie - Bellamy Brothershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzdvQOXxRD4
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 06:09:10 PT
Just a Comment
One of the things about research that concerns me is if they allow research cannabis might not be allowed in it's natural form. Many people are not into pharmaceuticals but use herbal remedies. If we can use natural herbal medicine Cannabis should also be allowed. Research is fine but don't stop people from finding a more natural way to feel better.
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Comment #33 posted by Hope on February 08, 2009 at 06:08:12 PT
Runruff
You woke up in a good mood this morning.:0)
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on February 08, 2009 at 05:30:16 PT
Thanks Hope
Medical Cannabis and The Culture Wars By Mark Kleiman February 07, 2009 When Devlin Barrett, now covering the Justice Department for AP, asked me for my interpretation of the White House statement about not using federal drug enforcement resources to arrest people selling cannabis out of the "dispensaries" that are legal under California law (though of course still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act), I shot from the lip as usual, saying "It means that it's no longer Federal policy to beat up on the hippies."I was surprised when Barrett managed to get that quote past his editors.I think it's more or less the right analysis, though. The whole "medical marjuana" fight is culture-wars Kabuki.Many of the "dispensaries" are about as medical as a wine store; the ads in the back of the LA Weekly (which come just ahead of the escort-services ads, if memory serves) advertise brand names and "1 gram free for first-time visitors," not levels or ratios of the active chemicals, which is what an actual patient would be interested in. The list of available preparations is usually called a "menu."And while DEA raids the dispensaries, it is also (in partnership with the National Institute of Drug Abuse) still actively blocking research that might lead to FDA approval of either whole cannabis or an extract.The current California system — which is much more radical than the original Prop. 215 permission for patients and their primary caregivers to possess or grow cannabis for medical use — actually makes legal cannabis much more easily and widely available than would prescription availability; with on-site physicians to write "recommendations" based on imaginary ailments, the dispensaries are much closer to Amsterdan-style "coffee shops," and if the Feds actually get out of the way they may ramp up their marketing effort.That's part of the reason most of the "medical marijunana" advocates have no particular interest in doing actual clinical research. (The other half of the reason is that medical pot is one of the few issues where the drug-warrior position is activity unpopular.)It will be interesting to see whether the Obama Administration decides to make this issue a poster child for science-based policy.
http://www.samefacts.com/
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Comment #31 posted by runruff on February 08, 2009 at 04:39:07 PT
What is worse?
Using illegal drugs [a misnomer] or using legal drugs illegally?
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Comment #30 posted by runruff on February 08, 2009 at 04:32:38 PT
DEA believes in a santa w/ an AK-47.
When told there is no Santa Clause,
"DEA officials in Washington declined to comment at all on the subject."
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Comment #29 posted by runruff on February 08, 2009 at 04:21:20 PT
time is time?
It's 4:20 am, does that count?
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on February 07, 2009 at 21:31:54 PT
Mark Kleiman's blog
http://www.samefacts.com/and he mentions this article.Also, apparently Subway isn't dropping Phelps after all.Sponsor Subway sticking by Phelpshttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090207/sp_wl_afp/oly2008swimphelps_20090207053610
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Comment #27 posted by 420ned on February 07, 2009 at 20:53:37 PT:
THC Ministry
Ha, Sarah Pullen was wrong! if you are a minister for the THC Ministry, it is legal to smoke and grow marijuana, even under federal law. Freedom of religion!
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Comment #26 posted by tintala on February 07, 2009 at 20:36:07 PT:
TIME TO KICK EM WHILE THEIR DOWN!
Now that the economy is in a meltdown, this is the only silver lining for cannabis reform, with it creating millions of jobs in the medical, industrial hemp farming as well, coz if marijuana is legalized then by default hemp is.. or should be. With the economy suffering, no more funds should be available for federal prohibition.Imagine the jobs created with an incredible healthy hemp infrstructure in place. The work place will be have a hempish ambience. green and ecological friendly, what a great concept.But I think OBAMA is afraid of confronting the DEA, so he will have to grow some balls.
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Comment #25 posted by itsonlyaplant on February 07, 2009 at 19:09:42 PT
I agree
I agree with you all about hope for ending the madness. BUT as some may remember Jimmy Carter also had a softer stance on cannabis, and look what all of those years of neo-con rule post-Carter did to his advances. I'm not trying to poo poo anyone's hope, I guess I'm just overly cynical about anything pertaining to the government and tolerance. It seems to me at least in my short lifetime that if a more liberal leaning official makes positive ground on ANY issue for our country, the "good men" of the far right come in and muck it up. I mean Irv Rosenfeld is STILL the only medicinal cannabis patient recognized by the federal government all these years after Pres. Carter's administration made bold decisions regarding our most beloved natural remedy (for whatever ails you.) I fear if Pres. Obama DOES do something positive regarding cannabis reform the corporate lackies posing as moral zealots (our so-called governmental representation) will again undo sensible policies after he's gone from office. In the meantime, I too have that little glimmer of hope in my heart that I will one day be able to go to the local Stop-And-Rob and say to the person behind the counter.. "Shopkeep.. a pack of Jamaica's finest please."
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 17:34:39 PT
museman
It is dreamlike. It's a dream that goes back for some of us for many years and it's actually getting closer.
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Comment #23 posted by museman on February 07, 2009 at 17:25:08 PT
FoM
The amount of follow through that appears to be occurring within the new administration is a bit dreamlike.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 17:13:26 PT
One More Comment
If you type in medical marijuana in google many web sites are carrying this article. I think that's great.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 17:09:57 PT
museman
The door is opening. I'm still a little shocked by the whole thing.
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Comment #20 posted by museman on February 07, 2009 at 17:08:11 PT
FoM
You are right. This is really only the beginning of the long haul. The foot in the door. But finally, finally, the damn door is open!
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Comment #19 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 07, 2009 at 17:04:18 PT
Here's a song to go with my last post
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR40JbiJkEYFoo Fighters - All My Life
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 16:58:58 PT
fight_4_freedom and museman
When a war is coming to an end someone will be the last one killed. I am hopeful with this article but I also know it might not be over for a while.
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Comment #17 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 07, 2009 at 16:51:57 PT
We are getting closer...closer to the prize at the
end of the road. I wonder if they'll test him again and raid another dispensary while they still have the chance. My guess is that they will. The clouds are starting to pass and the sun is peaking through.
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Comment #16 posted by museman on February 07, 2009 at 16:48:31 PT
wikipedia "experts"
You see? All it takes to become an "authority" on anything, is write/publish a book, and include some selective statistics in your bibliography; Voila! Instant Expert!Doesn't matter whether anybody reads it, believes it, or buys it, just as long as its published. And all that takes is money. But all that aside, this is good news. I am watching the heads roll, the walls fall, and hope for more sanity in this troubled world rise a little higher than the despair, maybe, hopefully.Obama was a good call.LEGALIZE FREEDOM
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 16:00:34 PT
HempWorld
I remember that special on Frontline. It is dated but back in 1997 or 1998 it was good. I bet if he was interviewed now he would think a little differently on some issues.
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Comment #14 posted by HempWorld on February 07, 2009 at 15:46:05 PT
Mr. Mark Kleiman is either not knowledgeable or
he is trying to frame the debate ...He says what is happening in the Netherlands (my country) is not legalization of cannabis sales and he says that we do not know the effects of this.The former is true in a legal sense, although one must look at reality and that is that a coffeeshop as we call them, is much less trouble than a bar with alcohol alone and this is a de-facto legalization. The latter is simply not true because we know that cannabis use in the Netherlands is about half of that of US use rate. And the US kids are using much more earlier than in the Netherlands, for example; just because we regulated it and it lost the 'forbidden fruit' appeal.Here is the website with the usage rates comparing the US to the Netherlands for many drugs:
On a mission from God!
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 14:15:17 PT
Frontline: Busted - America's War On Marijuana
An Interview by Mark Kleiman.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/interviews/kleiman.html
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 14:12:02 PT
Philip B. Heymann
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Heymann
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 14:10:45 PT
Mark Kleiman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kleiman
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Comment #10 posted by itsonlyaplant on February 07, 2009 at 13:07:12 PT
Tax and regulate
All the federal government has to do is look the amounts of LEGAL tax $$ CA is getting from medicinal cannabis ALONE (think of the oodles of cash they'd get if it were totally legal) and it should be evident that if all 50 states had that revenue coming in the hole we're in as a result of 8 years of administrative mismanagement would be a bit smaller. Keep up the good fight and maybe people who need and want cannabis can live without fear of the storm troopers busting down their doors.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 11:16:20 PT
E_Johnson
I seem to be in a daze in a way. Am I dreaming? It's amazing how we feel when we finally feel progress is being made.
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on February 07, 2009 at 11:14:10 PT
FoM I'm not weary
I feel like I've been carrying a backpack filled with rocks and someone just took out half the rocks. Right now everyone wants federal funds so I think law enforcement across the nation is going to be hearing this message that it's not about beating up on hippies loud and clear.With the economy down, property crimes will be increasing, and the police will not be bedeviled by idle hands. They'll have more real crimes to solve and they'll be so grateful for federal funds that they'll probably take the hint right away.That's just my theory anyways.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 11:08:12 PT
E_Johnson
It feels weird having hope. Kinda tingly.Boy do I agree.
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Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on February 07, 2009 at 11:06:13 PT
Okay things are moving at last
Congrats to everyone who helped make this happen!We proved we're not lazy or uncommitted. And they listened.It feels weird having hope. Kinda tingly.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 10:26:22 PT
MarijuanaSavesLives
Thank you. I needed that. Now is not the time for us to get weary.
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Comment #4 posted by MarijuanaSavesLives on February 07, 2009 at 10:24:04 PT
I like this
FoM, We will win....And one day soon... when this is all over...We will not ever look back.
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Comment #3 posted by MarijuanaSavesLives on February 07, 2009 at 10:16:02 PT
I like this
SPEAK ON! Articles like this are what this country needs... To Paul Bruce and all the others that speak out and write... WE SALUTE YOU! With all the respect in the world.... Have a good weekend!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 07, 2009 at 10:14:38 PT
A Beginning Maybe?
Maybe in time we will win.
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on February 07, 2009 at 10:14:27 PT
"they haven't anticipated the change Obama and his
spokesman are signaling."I think the DEA had perfect timing to harass and raid more dispensaries. They will continue to do this as it is in their character to do so.
On a mission from God!
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