cannabisnews.com: Marijuana: The Gateway to the White House
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Marijuana: The Gateway to the White House
Posted by CN Staff on September 18, 2015 at 08:48:21 PT
By Josh Pearson
Source: Huffington Post
USA -- During last night's Republican debate, Jeb Bush, one of the leading Republican candidates and former Governor of Florida, admitted yet again to smoking marijuana when he was young. "Forty years ago I smoked marijuana, and I admit it."This is commonplace now if you're running for President. Clinton admitted it, Jeb's brother George W. admitted it, and so did Obama. Apparently, one of the side effects of marijuana use may be the Presidency of the United States -- use with caution.
And that is the hypocrisy. The hypocrisy that Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky pointed out on stage last night: "The people going to jail for this are poor people, often African-Americans and often Hispanics, and yet the rich kids who use drugs aren't."Jeb Bush didn't get caught, his brother didn't get caught, and neither did Clinton or Obama. They didn't go to jail, and they weren't forced into our broken criminal justice system and branded as a criminal for life.As many candidates liked to repeat last night, "we are a nation of laws." They are right, we are, but our drug laws are broken. Jeb Bush was lucky, but so many others aren't. We arrest over 600,000 people a year for marijuana violations, and we incarcerate more people than any other nation on earth.The drug war has failed, and it's astounding that many on the GOP debate stage still cling to drug war scare tactics reminiscent of Ronald Reagan. Chris Christie claimed marijuana is a "gateway drug" even though there is no scientific evidence to back up that claim and the vast majority of marijuana users never go on to try other drugs. Carly Fiorina claimed marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol, though recent studies have shown marijuana to be 114 times safer.These talking points are not only scientifically wrong, they are a losing political strategy. Over 50 percent of Americans support full out legalization and regulation of marijuana, and almost 80 percent support its legalization for medical purposes. Even 60 percent of GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire say the federal government should let the states set their own marijuana policies.Support is increasing across the board because people are seeing the success of sensible marijuana regulation. They are seeing cannabidiol oil saving young children from hundreds of seizures a day, they are seeing multiple sclerosis patients use marijuana to gain motor function back, and they are seeing Colorado bring in over $70 million in tax revenue from regulated sales in the last fiscal year alone.Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and D.C. have now legalized marijuana for personal use, and a total of 23 states have some sort of medical access. And this is just the beginning. As many as seven states may vote on marijuana legalization in 2016. This is an issue that isn't going away. Marijuana policy will be front and center in the general election, and the GOP would be smart to get ahead on it.Ending the drug war is the human thing to do, the scientific thing to do, and is increasingly becoming the politically expedient thing to do.Josh Pearson is the Digital Fundraising Manager for Drug Policy Action the political arm of Drug Policy Alliance.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Josh Pearson	Published: September 17, 2015Copyright: 2015 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/f55rvxnKCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by Paint with light on September 22, 2015 at 18:36:24 PT
Vox fact checks Carly Fiorina
Vox does a pretty good job most of the time.http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9363395/alcohol-vs-marijuanaHow appropriate to say,Legal like alcohol, at least.
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Comment #7 posted by observer on September 21, 2015 at 13:41:20 PT
Amateur vs Professioinal
re: KABUL In his last phone call home, Lance Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.In the eyes of US Government Child Protective Services, that is absolutely appalling, what was done to those boys! Just sick as can be!In the USA, CPS protects government officials because when they abuse your children, CPS: it is all 100% legal. Unlike those sloppy Afghan officials, US CPS Officials have higher standards of CYA bureaucracy. So, when your child is gamed by the Child "Protective" Services, and abused in foster "care", killed in foster care, raped in juvenile hall, when your little boy is raped in the prison system,  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal bought and sold by the judges and the CPS officials who'd like to game your kid for their stats, salary, career advancement - and plain, old fashioned graft, it's all 100% U.S. of A. Legal, baby! Child Protective "Services", when they service your child, are professionals. Not like those unprofessional Afghan officials. CPS has standards.
http://drugnewsbot.org
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Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on September 21, 2015 at 11:13:47 PT
US rule
the war on cannabis is just one tiny part of the evil of the US govt. - talk about the Emperor wearing no clothes - look at this:http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2015/09/20/soldiers-told-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-boys/DN8iDGPVqHGIZw39w4ZW9L/story.htmlA photo of Lance Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr., who was shot to death after reporting abuse by Afghans.By Joseph Goldstein NEW YORK TIMES SEPTEMBER 21, 2015KABUL In his last phone call home, Lance Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.ÒAt night we can hear them screaming, but we're not allowed to do anything about it, the MarineÕs father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. "My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it's their culture."Gregory Buckley Sr. believes the policy of looking away from sexual abuse was a factor in his son's death, and he has filed a lawsuit to press the Marine Corps for more information about it.
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on September 20, 2015 at 20:38:54 PT
Cannabis prohibitionists are losers.
No cannabis prohibitionist will ever again win the presidency.
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on September 20, 2015 at 08:12:28 PT
If this were true
Tommy Chong would be in his eighth term by now.
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Comment #3 posted by keninsj on September 19, 2015 at 16:28:54 PT:
The problem
The problem is they stopped smoking it, now they cannot think for themselves. 
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Comment #2 posted by observer on September 19, 2015 at 15:06:18 PT
''We We We,'' All the Way Home-land
re: As many candidates liked to repeat last night, "we are a nation of laws".When those "laws" restrain government from government's tendency to rapacious predation upon the governed, then those same law-lovers somehow overlook that.Like when politicians and police-state praetorians lie about illegal automated dragnet totalitarian "everything" spying on all Americans' phone calls, all the time, eternally storing the audio content and looking for keywords related to pot. But then lie, and claim the NSA is merely for to catch foreign terrorists. That is a lie: the "everything" audio content dragnet is to catch people selling drugs (read: pot). Or think about how much government loves "the law", when government police and prosecutors perjure themselves in court. They take the stand and lie about their pretext stops, tips, and false probable cause. Those little breakings of "the law" somehow don't worry such law-lovers. That continual police-state law breaking is "no biggie". Certainly not as important as busting your kids for a few ounces of pot, or (Oh My Lord, Edna!) a cannabis plant or two.It is only when you break the Holy Sent-From-Heaven pot laws, that government becomes concerned. Oh so concerned is government over your pot! You see (the well dressed government prosecutor will explain to the jury), your marijuana isn't a victimless crime. Oh no. Your cannabis injures and harms the entire commune. I mean, community. That gets them so worked up. You smoking pot. And growing a pot plant (unlike a tomato plant) is a drug manufacturing operation that without doubt affects the entire community. That's what prosecutors tell juries all across America, every day. So much does government respect law.The police state's lies, thefts, and murders? They can't see that. That's invisible. We are a nation of laws.Sure "we" are. Politicians, government will say anything. Anything to keep the rabble in line. Anything to keep the police state well-salaried and the profitability great of privatized prisons. Any story people might believe. Whatever works. So, "we" can see exactly how much the "law" -lovers respect "the law." Such respect laws when they are used against you. Laws that keep you under control, laws that enslave you: those laws are dandy. But laws that protect your rights - like traditional English common law? Forget about it, peon.
http://drugnewsbot.org
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on September 19, 2015 at 01:25:45 PT
Love it
Apparently, one of the side effects of marijuana use may be the Presidency of the United States -- use with caution. 
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