cannabisnews.com: Marijuana for Medicine
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Marijuana for Medicine
Posted by CN Staff on December 16, 2009 at 14:30:23 PT
By Doug Smith
Source: Arkansas Times
Arkansas -- State Sen. Randy Laverty of Jasper says that after the news media reported last month on his proposal to legalize medical marijuana, he got more response than on any issue he'd been associated with in his 15 years as a legislator — telephone calls, e-mails and personal contact. “And it was all positive. That never happens.”Laverty says that at the next regular legislative session, in 2011, he'll introduce a bill to permit the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The time may be ripe.
Thirteen states have legalized medical marijuana. Maine became the latest last month, when voters approved it by a 59 percent majority. At least a dozen more states seem headed toward legalization in the near future. It was a full eight years ago that a University of Arkansas poll found 63 percent of Arkansans in favor of medical marijuana and 32 percent opposed. (The finding astounded, and was disputed by, a number of people, and seemed to go unnoticed by the legislature.) In 2004, drug-law reformers tried to put a medical-marijuana act on the general election ballot, but failed to obtain the required number of signatures. In the last couple of years, voters in Eureka Springs and Fayetteville have declared that enforcement of marijuana laws should be a low priority for law enforcement. A few medical marijuana bills have been introduced in the legislature, but none ever got out of committee. Those bills weren't sponsored by legislators as well-entrenched as Laverty.Medical marijuana is part of a larger issue, Laverty says, but it's the part that can be achieved most quickly. The larger issue is whether to decriminalize the use of marijuana generally as a way to curtail the explosive growth in the state prison population. Laverty also is pondering legislation that would entail the release from prison of large numbers of nonviolent offenders, through greater use of house arrest. New technology has improved devices, such as ankle bracelets, that keep law enforcement officers informed of offenders' whereabouts, Laverty says.“When I first came to the legislature, we had about 6,300 prison inmates,” Laverty says. “Today, we're pushing 16,000. They're projecting 22,000 in 10 years.” The prison population is aging, too, which means it's more expensive. A few years back, Laverty saw a National Conference of State Legislatures report that said $21,000 to $26,000 a year was the cost of keeping an inmate in his 20s confined, and $53,000 to $57,000 a year the cost for an inmate in his 50s or 60s. Older inmates are more prone to health problems.Laverty, who has three years left to serve in the legislature, said he's still studying what other states have done in this area. But in regard to medical marijuana, he's ready to go. He said he'd been at the bedside of too many cancer patients in pain not to want to relieve their suffering. Most local law enforcement officers already say that arresting marijuana users isn't a high priority. It's impossible to know how many marijuana offenders are in the state prisons, because most drug offenders are charged under a blanket “controlled substance” statute that doesn't name a specific substance. Dina Tyler, a spokesman for the state Correction Department, said she doubts there are many people in prison for mere possession of marijuana. Possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor, she said, and misdemeanants don't go to prison. But drug reformers note that a second offense of possessing marijuana, even a small amount, is a felony. They believe that sheriffs and police use this provision of the law to send up people who're considered troublemakers but who have no other charges against them. Note: Many are ready, including a prominent legislator. Source: Arkansas Times (Little Rock, AR)Author: Doug SmithPublished: December 17, 2009Copyright: 2009 Arkansas Times Inc.Contact: arktimes arktimes.comWebsite: http://www.arktimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/Z0wvSmHtCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #53 posted by kaptinemo on December 18, 2009 at 04:08:06 PT:
You really DO have to wonder
As an engineer, I've long hated the concept of 'planned obsolescence', the idea that things are designed to break down after a period of time, and purely to require people to purchase the same or a similar good in order to maintain the economic engine. But...what if the same principle is being applied to people?Rick Simpson's oil, from what I can tell, is just a raw version of the kinds of compounds used in the earliest University of Virginia antineoplastin study that first discovered the anti-cancer properties of THC in 1974, and later again in 1994 and then again in 2000 at the Complutense University in Madrid and later again in Milan in 2003.In every instance, the same results: success in killing cancer cells. In every instance, hardly a word breathed about it in the US...and the first two studies mentioned were carried out in this country.So, you have to ask: by keeping this kind of thing under wraps, and attacking those who dare to make the knowledge public...is the 'planned obsolescence' philosophy being applied to people? Is somebody, somewhere, operating off of a kind of class-based eugenics, whereby those who are deemed to be no longer 'industrially useful' (or dangerous to the interests of a ruling class) being purposefully kept from information and methodologies that might improve the health and welfare of the majority of human beings?Given the kinds of fulminating official reactions against anything having to do with the incredibly useful cannabis plant, I believe the question is warranted. 
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Comment #52 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 21:33:59 PT
Rick Simpson
This is a good article.http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december052009/rick_simpson_bk.phpAnd of course, there's a story about Rick Simpson and Phoenix Tears in High Times this month.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 20:37:59 PT
Rick Simpson
It all just gets stranger and stranger. Why aren't oncologists, cancer researchers, and such wanting to find out what all the fuss is about this oil, this Phoenix Tears? Are they all so arrogant? Not even one is interested?Are they so sure there's nothing to Phoenix Tears that they can just blow it off like it's nothing and treat Mr. Simpson the way they are treating him?Why not take a rational look at Phoenix Tears and tell the world what the heck's going on? What would be so wrong with that?Where are the investigative reporters?What's the sense in this?Where's the sanity?
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Comment #50 posted by HempWorld on December 17, 2009 at 17:33:18 PT
Rick's Latest Message:
Hemp Medicine´s Emperor´s Political Exile in Europe- a message from Rick SimpsonOn November 25th, one day before I was crowned the Freedom Fighter of the Year 2009 at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, I received a word that I have been raided again by the RCMP. I contacted Tim Hunter at the Amherst attachment and asked I was being charged. Of course, he refused to give me straight answer. All he would say was that the RCMP wanted to talk to me.After openly growing hemp in my backyard this past summer and announcing this fact to the public on tom Young´s open line talk show in June, how could the RCMP not be aware of my activities? The truth is they knew exactly what I was doing. RCMP officers were even sending people that needed help to me. I can only surmise that the purpose of this raid was to keep me from returning to Canada.If I return home, I will be arrested and put in jail without bail or medicine. I am not afraid of their jails but I cannot go without my medicine, the system has nothing that could help me with my conditions. So for me to return to Canada would be like committing suicide. I would be thrown in jail and denied my medicine and a short time later you would hear in the news that Rick Simpson died of natural causes. I cannot tell the people of Canada who are depending on my presence to help their medical conditions how sorry I am. But it was not me who caused this situation.It seems the goal is to keep me from returning home and they succeeded. But to what end? All hemp magazines on this planet are now telling their readers how to heal themselves with this wonderful medicine. If governments want to live in denial, it will be short-lived. We are gaining tens of thousands of followers every day. You cannot stop the truth.For me, going to the Cannabis Cup was a great adventure and I would like to thank Greenhouse Seeds for making this trip possible. To stand before hundreds of people and being crowned as the Freedom Fighter of the Year was a great honour. But it is an honour that comes with a price. Most people who have worn the tricorn hat have gone to jail for spreading the truth.To have this honour bestowed on me and to join the ranks of people like Jack Herer and Eddy Lepp has given my life even more purpose.Jack Herer believed as I do that the key to hemp´s complete legalisation is in the magnificent medicine this plant can produce. Once the public becomes aware of the fact that properly made hemp medicine can cure or control practically any medical condition, who is going to stand against the use of hemp?I must also mention the great work done by Steve Hagar and High Times magazine. Cannabis cures cancer right on their cover. It is so refreshing to know that the system has no control over hemp publications. What a shame are so-called free press and news media refuse to print the truth.I must also tip my tricorn hat to the Weed World out of the UK. They were the first hemp magazine to cover my work. They even released a special edition in September 2009 featuring a number of articles that I wrote about hemp medicine and other aspects of the hemp movement. I must also acknowledge the great work done by Bayer & Romsy Hemp Cosmetics and Konoptikum hemp magazine of the Czech Republic. This publication has also done much to spread the truth about hemp in Europe.Presently, I am staying with friends in Europe but it saddens me to be unable to be with my family and loved ones during Christmas. For the time being, it seems I will be seeking asylum in Europe. This may not be a bad thing since seminars about hemp oil are being arranged in many countries. I hate to go begging but if anyone out there has an extra few dollars they can donate to us, it would greatly ease the burden on me. Of course it costs money to live in Europe and we are expending a great deal putting on seminars and spreading the word. So any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.They say everything happens for a reason, so I will simply put my head down and continue forward. To anyone in Canada or the US requiring help, simply follow the information we provided at www.phoenixtears.ca. Almost anyone can produce this medicine without difficulty, if they follow the instructions. Again, I apologize to everyone for not returning. But as you can see, my hands are tied.We are at the dawn of new age in medicine and a new day for mankind. Not only can hemp save the world, it can eliminate a great deal of human suffering and can even put an end to starvation. What are we waiting for? Join with me and let us put an end to this madness. It can only survive if we continue to sit on our backsides and do nothing. Stand up and be counted and let us give ourselves a chance to heal.Best wishes,
Rick Simpson
Link
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Comment #49 posted by HempWorld on December 17, 2009 at 17:09:31 PT
Video
Here:
Rick Simpson's Home Raided While He Was Away!
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Comment #48 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 17:08:22 PT
That would be nice.
"Returning all those who've been savaged by the laws to their former lives, with compensation for having those lives ruined because of a national shame and disgrace begun by racist bigots and continued by de facto fascists, that would be even better."Except that some of them were killed dead because of prohibitionist zeal. Murdered, really. They can't be restored at all.
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Comment #47 posted by HempWorld on December 17, 2009 at 16:59:36 PT
POLICE RAID POT ADVOCATE'S HOME 
"The Amherst-area man who believes marijuana cures cancer says he is seeking political refuge in Europe. In a video on his Phoenix Tears website, Rick Simpson said police raided his home Nov. 25 and will charge him in connection with items they seized. "If I return home, I will be arrested and put in jail without bail or medicine," Mr. Simpson wrote on his website. He travelled to Amsterdam last month to accept an award at the infamous Cannabis Cup festival, where marijuana growers vie for the approval of thousands of judges. Mr. Simpson won the freedom fighter of the year award for his work in trying to get marijuana recognized as a cure-all medicinal product. The marijuana advocate said he has seen hemp oil cure terminal lung cancer. He claims he has always given the product away for free. Mr. Simpson is believed to be living in Czech Republic with friends. On his website, he said returning to Canada would be akin to committing suicide."Can anyone post any details on Rick? E-mail or phone number would be great, thanks,Rick Simpson is a HERO! See below:
Rick Siimpson Story!
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Comment #46 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 16:49:10 PT:
Hope, I don't deserve any thanks
I had to have my own arse chewed by the DrugWarriors before I started becoming active, when I should have been active the moment I started using medicinally...if not before that on civil rights grounds.As it is, I survived, but just barely. People like RunRuff paid a much higher price than I did, and deserve much more respect than I ever will.And, as I've admitted in the past, my involvement is not entirely altruistic. It is said the best revenge is living well. That is not entirely correct. The best revenge is not only living well, but demonstrating your higher quality of life to those who sought to make that life miserable if not outright impossible...and are now impotent to do so. Cannabis re-legalization will fit that just fine. Returning all those who've been savaged by the laws to their former lives, with compensation for having those lives ruined because of a national shame and disgrace begun by racist bigots and continued by de facto fascists, that would be even better. Think of it as velvet-gloved revenge. But if things go to Hell in this country, and the forces that once destroyed lives with snickering impunity now face anarchy and lawlessness, to the point said agents of misery now must fear for their own families (as the police in NOLA did when everything went to pieces after Katrina), well, I won't shed any tears for their circumstances. For, as my old instructors, survivors of the 'Nam, always told me, "What comes around, goes around." Or, to use the even shorter form, "Karma's a b*tch, ain't it? The DrugWarriors have decades of karma stored up, and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes when it comes due...
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Comment #45 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 16:28:59 PT:
BGreen, it still applies
The money for all that whizzing around comes from the taxpayers...who are feeling an increasing pinch in their wallets that's getting painful by the day. I re-iterate that it's only a matter of time before the question is raised. And when it is, by that time, the question will have a razor-sharp edge to it. That kind that cuts pols to the bone if they try to equivocate or dissemble.Things are getting mean in this country when people show up to Town Hall meetings armed. And we may be heading into even harder times ahead. And that means people won't accept being fobbed off by pols anymore, and their concerns belittled as they generally were before the Crash. As times get increasingly tighter, the business of politics, right down to the local level, will become even more serious. And pols who waste the taxpayer's money may soon find themselves facing impeachment proceedings, yes, even at that local level.The illusion is that pols can keep wasting the taxpayer's desperately needed funding when the reality is that the fiscal wolf is not only at the front porch but is sticking his snarling head through the dog door. One more sharp real estate market downturn, one more series of layoffs, and it will become plain to everyone that it truly is 'guns or butter' time, and people can't eat guns. And the DrugWar plays a part in the 'guns' half of the equation.
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Comment #44 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 14:13:35 PT
John Wilson
I wonder what this means. Guilty on two counts still?Looking at that first video on that page, I was delighted to see Jim Miller still standing and still fighting.
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on December 17, 2009 at 13:40:37 PT
Man Found Not Guilty of Operating MJ Facility
Ill Somerset County Man Found Not Guilty of Operating Marijuana FacilityDecember 17, 2009Franklin, NJ -- Jurors have found a Somerset County man not guilty of the most serious charge against -- operating a drug facility out of his home, where he was growing 17 marijuana plants, drugs he said he used to treat his multiple sclerosis.URL: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/somerset_man_found_guilty_of_m_1.html
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Comment #42 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 13:12:05 PT
No...
Make me laugh. I'm grateful.It's better than the constant sorrow.Much better.
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Comment #41 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 13:10:36 PT
BGreen
Quit making me laugh so much! This is serious!
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 13:09:47 PT
carbon-dioxide laser
Sounds about right, to me.I'm thankful for you, Kap. You've helped and encouraged so many, including myself, so much over so many years now. Thank you.I have very pleasant memories of our weekend discussions over at MAP. It all helped quicken me and made me strong in my ability and desire to push back against how overbearing and downright deadly and heinously destructive, some aspects of our government have grown during our lives.We've all participated in probably one of the longest, if not the longest, continuous conversations that a group of people have ever had. I know that conversation has helped and encouraged me lots of times and I think it has done some good in general for the whole situation, however small that good may be.
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Comment #39 posted by BGreen on December 17, 2009 at 13:09:43 PT
BTW, Hope
I'm ALWAYS in Amsterdam.Bud
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Comment #38 posted by BGreen on December 17, 2009 at 13:07:00 PT
Sorry, Cheebs1, you're not welcome to CNews!
Hope told me so. :)The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 12:54:58 PT
Cheebs1 has been around awhile, BGreen
You must have been in Amsterdam!http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/24/thread24583.shtmlYou scared me for a minute there! Marion Berry.....
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Comment #36 posted by BGreen on December 17, 2009 at 12:47:08 PT
kapt and Sam
Around Missouri the cannabis eradication is done with the National Guard helicopters. Since the birds are already in the air for training purposes, law enforcement joins in and the nature of the training has become cannabis eradication.The cops wet their pants about it because, since the National Guard will always have to train, they believe that cannabis eradication will continue unabated forever.God help us here in Missouri!The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #35 posted by BGreen on December 17, 2009 at 12:37:59 PT
I hate to be the killjoy, Cheebs1, but here's how
"How can congress now say that it doesn't have a recognized medicinal value when there will dispensaries in the heart of the beast?"Six little words, The Marion Barry Community Cannabis Coalition, that's how.Just kidding ... I hope.Welcome to CNews.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #34 posted by Cheebs1 on December 17, 2009 at 12:23:49 PT:
Woot
President Obama signed the Omnibus Spending Bill yeserday clearing the way for medical cannabis in our nation's capitol. It looks like it is coming folks. How can congress now say that it doesn't have a recognized medicinal value when there will dispensaries in the heart of the beast?
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Comment #33 posted by Sam Adams on December 17, 2009 at 12:20:11 PT
helicopters
anyone that's ever priced out helicopter skiing knows how expensive it is! It's like $250 per run, with 6-8 people riding in there at once. It usually costs $1,000- $2,500 per day per person (with 8 people all paying $250 per run, which is probably less than 20 minutes of flying time)
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Comment #32 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 10:41:33 PT:
Sam, it's just a matter of time
How long before the average citizen starts to think about how much it costs to keep a helo in the air looking for cannabis gardens, as opposed to how many homeless families that money might have sheltered. JP-1 ain't cheap, neither is maintenance for those birds, and in the final analysis that's all they're presently being used for. A real, honest-to-Yahweh waste of the taxpayer's money.And of course, it will help if we remind our fellow taxpayers of that, every chance we get. Hint, hint, hint...
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Comment #31 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 10:31:35 PT:
For Hope and others
I've traded in my turkey carver for a carbon-dioxide laser. It's quieter and is a damn sight more precise.As to the thought processes of prohibs towards their targets, I offer Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Witch Trial: http://tinyurl.com/4z37r7I swear, the prohibs aren't any better than those monks and the crazy 'knnnig-gets'
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Comment #30 posted by Sam Adams on December 17, 2009 at 10:12:02 PT
New Jersey
Good to see the judge allowed the mention of MS in NJ. I predict the jury will acquit. Honestly it might be better if they gave him 20 years, it would draw more attention to the cruelty of the prosecutor, and he'll likely get pardoned.What sick, depraved people, to be going after someone suffering with MS. Look at what's happening, the military is flying over everyone's home, in our own country!  It's unbelievable! 
 
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 09:20:40 PT
Rachel Hoffman, 23
Burned to death at the prohibitionist stake.
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 09:18:03 PT
Comment 17
"Think of witch-burnings, pogroms, lynchings, burning crosses, etc....and then think about what society later thought about such people who engaged in that kind of behavior when reformers successfully called such behavior into question from a moral viewpoint."That's certainly what I'm about reforming. When I think "Stomp Stomp Clap", I'm thinking We will... We will STOP you!... from doing stuff like this: Drug War Victims http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/Funny how the prohibs manage to stay so blind to that and all the other destruction sprung from prohibition. We try to point that out... the wrongness of that... and they can only chant, "Druggie!" "Pothead!" "Stoner!".... or basically, "You must be a witch! You have to burn!"I can only say, "Crazy Prohibs!" 
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Comment #27 posted by Had Enough on December 17, 2009 at 09:16:58 PT
Rachel Hoffman update
Man found guilty in Rachel Hoffman's murderTALLAHASSEE — The jury returned a guilty verdict against one of two men charged with the murder of Rachel Hoffman, a 23-year-old Clearwater native who acted as a police informant in a botched drug sting.more...http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/man-found-guilty-in-rachel-hoffmans-murder/1059484***How Rachel became an informantDetails emerge on how woman became informerTALLAHASSEE — Rachel Hoffman sent a text message to her boyfriend soon before going undercover as a confidential informant for the Tallahassee Police Department."This is about to go down," he remembers her writing.Two days later, her body was found in Taylor County. The drug sting had gone bad.more...http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article502077.ece***Rachel’s Law: Informers now under tighter rulesLaw enforcement agencies across Florida will be under stricter guidelines for the use of confidential informers under a bill Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Thursday. The legislation is named for Rachel Hoffman, 23. The Florida State University graduate was killed while on an undercover drug buy for Tallahassee police a year ago.more...http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article998979.ece************Too little...too late...
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:51:29 PT
Comments 16 and 17
See?He always said that was an electric carving knife. I think it's really a chainsaw.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 17, 2009 at 08:48:06 PT
Hope
Thank you for the videos. I know some people have problems with Cat Stevens but I just love the guy for his overall good life. I don't look at the problems in his earlier life but I look at his life's work and passion and that's been good.
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:46:10 PT
Paint with Light
"Our side has got better at cutting through the BS and stating the truth, quickly."That's why it's easy to think of the truth as a sword.Except Kaptinemo... he calls his "sword of truth" an electric turkey carving knife. He's certainly adept at wielding that thing. I can't remember how to type that noise it makes when he's firing it up, but if it doesn't, it should send a chill through ever "turkey" out there that thinks they can use cunning and deception to fend off that blade. 
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:26:59 PT
Comment 22
Now that's what I'm talking about!
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:22:47 PT
Nice version from when he was Cat Stevens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjSHazjrWg&NR=1
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:20:25 PT
The Peace Train is rolling...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wEctHyuc0God knows we've been rocking it back and forth, up and down, and every which way but loose for long enough now to get it out of the holes it's been stuck in.Roll on!
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on December 17, 2009 at 08:10:53 PT
Comment 19
That truly brings joy to my very soul.Peace, common sense, and some good will towards fellow citizens. The nightmare and all the darkness of this prohibition is going to end.It's not ended yet. But it's going to.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 17, 2009 at 07:30:10 PT
News Article From Washington State
Representatives Pre-File Bill To Legalize MarijuanaBy Peter Callaghan, The News Tribune December 17, 2009 
 Washington State -- Six House Democrats want to legalize pot. Now if only they wanted to tax it enough to solve the budget shortfall, it might have a chance. But the six House Democrats who have pre-filed a bill to legalize marijuana for those over age 21 want to use nearly all of the money raised for substance abuse treatment and prevention.Still, the sponsors are a pretty mainstream bunch, and there has been some movement in other states to stop treating pot use and possession as a criminal offense. The six are Mary Lou Dickerson and Scott White of Seattle, Roger Goodman of Kirkland, David Upthegrove of Des Moines, Sherry Appleton of Poulsbo and Mary Helen Roberts of Lynnwood.House Bill 2401 is 78 pages long. But most of that is to find every reference to marijuana in state law and either remove it from criminal codes or add it to liquor laws. They also would regulate the farming, production and distribution.Copyright: 2009 Tacoma News Inc.URL: http://www.thenewstribune.com/331/story/997215.html
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Comment #18 posted by runruff on December 17, 2009 at 05:36:42 PT
"in the name of 'public safety'..."
I am soliciting flat earthers for money to build my safety fence around the edges of the planet!I will tell them it's,"for the children"! As a kicker I will throw in the bit about a safety net hanging around the edge as an extra precaution.I think the initial cost will be enormous but the profit is in the come back or in this case the maintenance.I will form a border patrol and call them the DEA-ish!
Damn Earth Anyway!-ish!I will be the Fall Czar, not the same as Spring Czar or Gravity Czar? Fall Czar, as in gravity negotiator.I am thinking about taxing gravity, everyone pays!No pay??? No gravity for you!!! We will make you a, "Fall Guy", heh heh heh!Boris and Natasha are flying in to head my new marketing team selling Upsidasium to the school kids. I know it will be dangerous and wicked but then the kids will know how to fly!You have got to make hay while the fear is high. Scared people will pay through the wazoo for boogie man protection! Johnny Pee told the people the boogie man was green and he solicited billions from a frightened public.Johnny Pee was yellow!
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Comment #17 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 04:30:12 PT:
But what's even more amazing
"In 2004, drug-law reformers tried to put a medical-marijuana act on the general election ballot, but failed to obtain the required number of signatures."Stop. Think. Look at that sentence again. See something?"Drug law reformers."Drug law reformersNow, who could possibly be the opponents of drug law reformers? And what do people think in general of those who oppose reform?This is a truly explosive statement. This puts the prohibs squarely in the gunsights of public opinion, as they've now been publicly arrayed as standing against reform. And traditionally, those standing in the way of reform are not thought of well by History. Think of witch-burnings, pogroms, lynchings, burning crosses, etc....and then think about what society later thought about such people who engaged in that kind of behavior when reformers successfully called such behavior into question from a moral viewpoint. More of this has to happen. Just as was done with describing the cannabis prohibition laws as being prohibition laws (and cementing in the public consciousness their similarity to the failed alcohol Prohibition laws), this must be pointed out repeatedly until it begins to stick in the media and therefore the public awareness. Then watch the prohibs try to justify their excesses in the name of 'public safety'...
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Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on December 17, 2009 at 04:09:38 PT:
It all STARTS with 'possession'
It always amazes me just how disingenuous they can be..."Dina Tyler, a spokesman for the state Correction Department, said she doubts there are many people in prison for mere possession of marijuana. Possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor, she said, and misdemeanants don't go to prison."But the entire sordid process begins with possession. Once they have you for that, the charges pile higher and higher, in hopes that they will crush you, and prevent you from having your 'day in court', so as to keep the high-speed sausage-grinder called the (hah-hah-not-so-funny) 'justice' system from having to be examined itself for its' inhumanity.They always say no one is in prison for possession, but leave out that little bit about how it all starts. So, the truth is, anyone in prison for violating the drug laws are there for possession. Period.
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Comment #15 posted by Paint with light on December 17, 2009 at 01:49:51 PT
So much good news...so little time
There will slowly be more like Senator Laverty.I admire his courage..........and timing.Soon it won't take so much courage to be on our side.Soon it will be a joke to be on the prohibs side.I am most encouraged at the present by the comments section after any cannabis related news article that makes the front page of google or Yahoo news.The problem is there are so many good news articles and comments that there is not enough time to read them all.For a long time there would be several voices that would come back with the reasons they were against lessening any penalties for cannabis.Now those voices are few.At one time a prohib could make one of the negative talking points and there might not be an answer.Now there are, almost always, several well thought out and concise responses.Our side has got better at cutting through the BS and stating the truth, quickly.All those years of perfecting our arguments and finding the facts are paying off.Step one........legal like medicine.Step two........legal like alcohol.Step three.......legal like it ought to be. 
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 16, 2009 at 16:48:49 PT
Hope
That's why I liked what he said. He was a little in awe of it.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on December 16, 2009 at 16:45:34 PT
Laverty
is the legislator.That's said with some tinge of respect for the situation.That's new.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 16, 2009 at 16:42:36 PT
goneposthole 
Merry Christmas to you too. I think Obama is a wonderful President. I have a sense that we will be able to move forward with medical marijuana without Federal interference now. It's truly for me a dream come true. I know some people really like Ron Paul and I respect that but just remember some people like me like Obama and I hope people can respect that too.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on December 16, 2009 at 16:41:34 PT
Wow
"Medical marijuana is part of a larger issue, Laverty says, but it's the part that can be achieved most quickly."
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Comment #10 posted by goneposthole on December 16, 2009 at 16:23:19 PT
Merry Christmas
Very good. Cannabis is off the charts in California. It's going gangbusters.Cannabis Clubs are in Denver and Colorado is taxing medical marijuana. Colorado is the leading edge, in my opinion.Cannabis for everybody this Christmas.Don't listen to politicians, they don't know if they're afoot or horseback. Especially Obama.It's a world of joy out there anyways, better yet without politicians. Ron Paul notwithstanding.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 16, 2009 at 16:21:52 PT
The GCW
I agree that he couldn't have said it better. That's an amazing statement and I really appreciate it.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on December 16, 2009 at 16:10:14 PT
Observer
You're so exactly right!
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on December 16, 2009 at 15:56:35 PT
observer,
State Sen. Randy Laverty of Jasper, couldn't have said it any better.
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Comment #6 posted by observer on December 16, 2009 at 15:43:27 PT
more response than on any issue
on his proposal to legalize medical marijuana, he got more response than on any issue he'd been associated with in his 15 years as a legislatorSurprise, surprise. That's because medical marijuana is far more popular than the legislator in question.Let the prohibitionist legislators now loudly condemn medical cannabis, so that everyone will know exactly who they are. Especially around election time. Weaselly politicians ridicule "single issue" politics, and lambaste "litmus tests". Well, here's a single issue litmus test for you: when a politician helps to keep pot illegal - helps to keep on jailing people for pot - that politician is a liar when he tells you he respects freedom, liberty, or the democratic process. Such a politician is not keeping his oath to the constitution. Such a politician has a huge, ugly blind spot. Politicians who keep pot illegal are monstrous liars, tyrants, and great hypocrites. They are lying about cannabis, hurting innocent, harmless people, all of which is "bad sowing" which eventually will bear unpleasant fruit. Lying and then hurting people based on those lies is bad karma. Call it "saving the children" all you like.  There's my "litmus test", and my "single issue" - politicians who lie and hurt people over cannabis are politicians who need to go back to their former occupations and leave us alone. 
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on December 16, 2009 at 15:40:41 PT
all positive
This is very good news for not only Arkansas but all Americans....But,the next regular legislative session, (is)in 2011 -??? Is that a typo??? Should it read 2010?Is Bill still not inhaling? Can He hold His breath that long? (Couldn't resist)
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on December 16, 2009 at 15:30:35 PT
John Wilson
I'm so glad to hear that. The last day or two I've been trying to remember to post about his situation... which is bad.... and so wrong. It's so good he got to say at least what he got to say. I hope it helps. Of course there could be a bunch of hard core, merciless prohibitionists on the jury, but if just one person understands what he said and stands up for him...
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 16, 2009 at 15:23:24 PT
Good News from New Jersey
Stunning Reversal at Medical Marijuana Trial in NJBy Brian ThompsonDecember 16, 2009A judge reversed course today, allowing a man on trial for possession of 17 marijuana plants that he was growing during the summer of 2008 to testify about his medical condition.URL: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Stunner-at-Medial-Marijuana-Trial-in-NJ-79447032.html
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on December 16, 2009 at 15:18:00 PT
 :0)
I gotta say, there's been folks in Arkansas that have really been very hard at work trying to do something good for a long, long, long time.A very long, long, long time.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 16, 2009 at 15:03:27 PT
Arkansas This Is Good
Finally we are seeing movement in some of the state's that have been difficult.Excerpt: Arkansas -- State Sen. Randy Laverty of Jasper says that after the news media reported last month on his proposal to legalize medical marijuana, he got more response than on any issue he'd been associated with in his 15 years as a legislator — telephone calls, e-mails and personal contact. “And it was all positive. That never happens.”
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