COMMENTS: 68
The Pot Smokers Who the Government Says Don't Exist
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"What am I going to do?" she lamented in one of our recent conversations. "If I have to live in this amount of pain 365 days a year without access to my medicine, then I'm not going to stay on this Earth very long."
Having worked in drug-law reform for decades, we personally know hundreds of patients like Deborah Palmer. Unfortunately, those in the federal government who oppose the therapeutic use of medical marijuana appear to be unaware of even one.
Speaking last month to the Associated Press, Tom Riley -- spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- launched into an all too common ad hominem attack against medical marijuana and those who advocate for its regulation. "There is a charade going on here," he charged. "[P]eople who are interested in drug legalization using genuinely sick people as pawns to get sympathy to get their agenda through."
This critique bemuses us. After all, we actually know medical marijuana patients -- yes, real live medical marijuana patients. We interact with them at conferences. We help them organize protests. Some of us lobby with them in Congress or the state houses. Others help coordinate their legal defenses when they've been arrested. Many of them are our friends and colleagues too. Sure, we also want legalization, not just for medical use. But while the drug war continues to rage, we desire to have the sick and dying taken off the battlefield. Who wouldn't?
Meanwhile, we keep getting letters such as the one below from the people that our government claims don't exist.
"I have had multiple sclerosis and a seizure disorder for 13 years now. I tried treating my disease the legal way and just got sicker and sicker - to the point of staying in bed all day. Then I tried marijuana, and it's like a wonder drug for me! I do not get high from the marijuana; it helps relax my muscles and takes the spasms away. Not to mention it's the only way I have an appetite to eat anything. How could someone tell me, 'no medical marijuana for you?'"Despite the venom of Tom Riley and his ilk, this issue is not about us. It is about these real Americans, from all walks of life, who are desperately in need, and who are desperately seeking help and looking for answers. They deserve the freedom to manage their serious medical travails as best they can -- with medical marijuana, if that's what works best for them. At a minimum, they deserve an acknowledgement from the Tom Rileys of the world that they are alive -- and living in pain.
"Six years ago I was literally struck down with fibromyalgia. I simply couldn't get out of bed one morning. I crawled versus walking most of the time as it was less painful. I was of no use to anyone, including myself. I also had no appetite whatsoever. I lost 20 pounds in a matter of weeks, leaving me a frail 100 lb 50-year-old. My husband thought maybe marijuana might help with my appetite, so he 'scored' some for me. It not only restored my appetite, it also took a lot of my pain away. It makes me sick to think we both could [be] arrested. When is this country going to wake up?"
"I am a six-year ulcerative colitis patient who quit all prescribed medicines and only took to cannabis. It worked faster and more effectively than standard medications and had fewer side effects. Now I can't have cannabis for job purposes and my symptoms are returning."
"I have Crohns disease. I do not smoke anymore because I'm afraid I could lose my job. My health has suffered because of quitting and I have suffered greatly. My own doctor has told me that cannabis can greatly benefit my disease, which has left me with the intestines of a 75-year-old person even though I am only 38."
"I've moved back home to a state that does not allow the medical use of marijuana, and it is very hard for me to find relief from my pain now. My doctor has increased my medications twofold, and I [still] do not get the pain control I had with [marijuana]. I just hope some day the government will stop demonizing a very useful tool."
"I am a highly qualified physician with years of experience in Africa and Asia, as well as seven years at the World Health Organization in Geneva. In 1991, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I now have a serious form of the disease with marked rigidity, loss of balance and tremor. Medication has proved useless or worse. At present I take none. About ten days ago I tried marijuana. After a delay of several hours there was an amazing improvement. Rigidity and loss of balance were much milder. I 'got my body back,' and could do things that had been impossible for five years."
"I was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor inside the left the temporal lobe of my brain. I had surgery, and I've just started chemotherapy and radiation. The surgeon actually apologized for the fact that he could not write me a prescription for marijuana, but he told me it was safe to smoke. My prescriptions make me very dizzy and nauseous and I have ever-present headaches that top any of the worst hangover headaches anyone could possibly have. My brain is still so badly swollen. The swelling has actually gotten worse and is exacerbated by the radiation. Marijuana is saving my life right now; it has helped to kill my seizures, nausea, dizziness, and calm my headaches. If marijuana can help me with all my other problems in addition to possibly reducing the size of my tumor and extending my life, then why on earth would our government not allow me to have it?"
Perhaps to finally receive that, instead of just writing to us, they will need to confront those government officials who think so little of denying them legal access to a plant that can improve their health and well-being. Maybe then politicians and bureaucrats will stop cynically bashing "our agenda," and finally start responding to needs of the citizens it is their duty to serve.
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Posted by: richholland on Sep 10, 2007 4:23 AM
Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
why not accept tolerance for medical potsmokers, why not allow homegrowers to some plants and arrest gangsters and CEOof large drugcoorporations.
wether you are hooked to smoking crack, tobacco, pot, working 60 hours a week, overweighted and still daily in McDonalds you live in the land of Free and Brave but you are a slave.
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Posted by: Setnakt on Sep 10, 2007 4:43 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Note the word "drug" I capitalized in refering to actual drugs, never Marijuana which is a PLANT not a drug. The Earth and god(s) make plants, man makes drugs. Man does not make Marijuana, mankind is at war with the Earth and (the) god(s), the war against gods creation, including Marijuana is proof of that.
And (2) the government is ran primarly by Xians who REALLY don't give a rats ass about human beings, and especially those in pain. Well except in taking sadistic enjoyment in seeing others suffer. Like the Evil inhuman monster they worship, they (Xians) also worship terror, evil, and missery. At least in inflicting it on others and watching them in pain, "because your a sinner and diserve it!". And of course all pleasure is "sin" itself. Anything that brings any pleasure must have massive negative side effects (like man-made DRUGS or Alcohol) or it's "illegal". Marijuana has no such negative so it's the Xian anti-god facist governments worst enemy.
When I had 3rd degree burns from a house fire Marijuana was the ONLY thing that helped. The burns are healed and I continue to use Marijuana (with my adult children also) now for nice healthy safe pleasurable fun. Screw the government I don't recognise "laws" from a lower authority over a higher one. And no anti-god, anti-life, anti-humanity, government of man has authority over the Earth and the creation of the most high. Becides with the a-hole in the highest office in the land totaly ignoring Federal Constitutional Law and International Law, why the hell would any sane indivual do more than laugh at Marijuana "laws" (and of course take needed precautions against the jackbooted robat pig cops of the thug coward politicans) having any meaning compaired to Presidental treason? Screw um!
Reverend Setnakt, SoT/SoA
~Xeper~
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» RE: Typical!
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: Typical! Yo, Setnakt!! Please don't put ALL
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: Typical! Yo, Setnakt!! Please don't put ALL
Posted by: aonghus36
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Posted by: Paxmana1 on Sep 10, 2007 4:59 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The plant has been used since history began .. the reefer madness mythology was probably initiated by the alcohol barons after the laughable prohibition era with its crime wave, machine guns and that gum boil Eliot Ness.
At this point in time it is used more for recreational purposes than as a medicine. Its usefulness as a medicine would cut into Pharmageddons bottom line .. it is no secret that the FDA and the BMC are shills for the synthetic drug barons.
Alcohol is legal .. the death toll from it is horrendous .. the crimes of great violence committed under its influence are legion .. it destruction of mind and body and especially when it has reached the addiction zone is well documented.
There has to be further reasons for its prohibition and the great sums of money spent in enforcing what is basically unenforceable.
Used for recreation it is mind expanding unless it is abused ..
It reveals many things especially how we as a society have been got at .. first in our formative years of state schooling .. and secondly with the Sheeples Orwellian Booby Tube with its subliminal messages .. and thirdly by political and commercial control of the print media both electronically and hard copy.
This is not good for business or politics if people become aware of what a seriously distorted society we in the western world live in and accept as normal .. unlike alcohol it does not promote violence ..
But then again if people understood what is being done to them with the mind control techniques and the medical drugs it could provoke wide spread unrest .. that would never do would it?
It may make war illegal .. that would never do would it ?
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Posted by: MadFlacc on Sep 10, 2007 6:25 AM
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» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: kmac
» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: lordzombie
» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: houseoftwits
» RE: A new tactic: So far all the replies to 'a new tactic' are
Posted by: SamFox
» Monthly Public Blazing Day
Posted by: Raybo
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Posted by: Dboy on Sep 10, 2007 6:25 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
dboy
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Posted by: LMNOP on Sep 10, 2007 6:48 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When are YOU going to wake up? Your goventment doesn't give a rat's ass about you or your comfort, and it will harass and persecute you even unto suicide if you dare defy them by trying to find relief in a way that challenges their beer profits and authori-tay. You probably love your country. But clearly, it doesn't love you.
"I just hope some day the government will stop demonizing a very useful tool."
America will be the very last country to decriminalize marijuana just as it was the last to outlaw slavery. This is a cruel, judgmental and hypocritical culture.
"If marijuana can help me with all my other problems in addition to possibly reducing the size of my tumor and extending my life, then why on earth would our government not allow me to have it?""
Because, as I said, it doesn't give a rat's pitoot about you, sir. America is about profit, not health, happiness or comfort. What other interpretation is possible?
Speaking last month to the Associated Press, Tom Riley -- spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- launched into an all too common ad hominem attack against medical marijuana and those who advocate for its regulation. "There is a charade going on here," he charged. "[P]eople who are interested in drug legalization using genuinely sick people as pawns to get sympathy to get their agenda through."
Listen to this f**king Republicanhypocrite (one word). The government's own anti-marijuana campaign is nothing but disingenuous red herrings about the dangers or ineffectiveness of marijuana as a medicine, or its use financing terrorists (no, that's the American government's own trafficking in cocaine that was used to finance al-Contra in Nicaragua to terrorize the democratically elected Ortega government). Who's being disingenuous here? Who's the terrorist here?
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» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word)
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word)
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: Dboy
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Posted by: VZEQICVA on Sep 10, 2007 7:36 AM
Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
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» RE: MAYBE IGNORING IT IS THE WAY TO GO
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: MAYBE IGNORING IT IS THE WAY TO GO
Posted by: VZEQICVA
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Posted by: picket on Sep 10, 2007 8:59 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One thing to do is to"OUT" the hypocrites. Make Prohibition POLITICALLY INCORRECT. The citizen who has no health insurance or access to medical care and has pain in most cases will self medicate, with alcohol and tylenol. Contrary to REPUB belief Americans DO work hard and have real physical PAIN. Too much of that LEGAL combination is really hazardous to your health, unlike Cannabis.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman...Michael Long.....re NYS Legislature push to legalize Medical Cannabis...."the measure could encourage fraud among unethical physicians trying to cash in on writing prescriptions" Blame prohibition on the people trying to relieve human suffering, that is a good one.
From what rock did that politician crawl out???
Check out the LEAP Law Enforcement Against Prohibition....leap.cc
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Posted by: alaskagrrl on Sep 10, 2007 9:23 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
But YOU are never going to win with current tactics.
I live in a logging area and I know one certain thing: Marijuana fiber would destroy the market for wood pulp. Clearcuts must happen (management wise) to provide cheap wood for your homes.... what do you do with the 2/3 of the forest that CAN"T be used for building ? It's made into pulp.
Basically all paper, toilet tissue, diapers, cardboard and plates are a by-product of the timber industry ! And YOU support the timber industry just like you support the oil industry !
Be honest here -- how much paper runs through your printer ? Bathroom ? Weekend Picnic ?
Replacing that fiber source with someting better would destroy the timber industry, same as the oil industry, chemical industry and yes the Big Pharma industry. Hemp is the bane of corporatism and there is no going forward along your current lines, it just isn't economical especially when you are part of the problem.
If you want to get Marijuana (or any other natural herb like Opium) legalized there is only one path -- as a Religion.
Think about it: God in his Bible clearly states that ALL things created are done so for the use of Mankind, and that ALL things created are good. Try shoving that down the throats of Christian Conservatives and you might have some success. There is HUGE Biblical support for this position in Corinthians for a start.
If God created it mankind shouldn't have the power to legislate it. Religious fervor is your only chance....
In the meantime, if you are really sick you could simply move to one of the most beautiful places on earth and grow FOUR PLANTS with have FOUR OUNCES set aside for use -- the terms of the 1975 Raven Decision. That's a lot of weed for anyone !
Look it up for yourselves if you don't believe me. Pot is ABSOLUTELY LEGAL in the privacy of your home in Alaska.
Stop snivelling and get out there and do something ! Become and activist or pack your bags and move to a place where you can get your medicine.
The clean air and water will do you some good,
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» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: richholland
» Good idea -- I'll post a request ! (nm)
Posted by: alaskagrrl
» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: aonghus36
» Let them just try it.... they have before
Posted by: alaskagrrl
» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: LeeAnnG
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Posted by: vasumurti on Sep 10, 2007 10:21 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Alcohol prohibition in the United States was repealed after just thirteen years while the prohibition of other drugs has continued for over 75 years. Why? Alcohol prohibition struck directly at society's most powerful members. The prohibition of other drugs, by contrast, threatened far fewer Americans with hardly any political power.
Only the prohibition of marijuana, which some sixty million Americans have violated since 1965, has come close to approximating the Prohibition era experience, but marijuana smokers consist mostly of young and relatively powerless Americans.
Richard Posner, Chicago's chief federal appeals judge, and one of the nation's leading legal scholars, says marijuana use should be legalized as a way of reducing crime. Posner, a Reagan administration appointee once described by American Lawyer magazine as "the most brilliant judge in the country," explained his views on marijuana in The Times Literary Supplement, a British publication, and in an interview that followed shortly thereafter.
"It is nonsense that we should be devoting so many law enforcement resources to marijuana," said Posner. "I am skeptical that a society that is so tolerant of alcohol and cigarettes should come down so hard on marijuana use and send people to prison for life without parole."
Posner, chief judge of the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, is the highest-ranking judge to publicly favor the repeal of marijuana laws. Several judges of the federal district court, a level lower than the appeals court, have made similar calls, including Robert Sweet of New York and James Paine of Florida, both Carter Administration appointees.
New York University law professor Burt Neuborne said it’s significant that "one of the leading intellectuals in the judicial system recognizes that the laws don’t seem to be working well."
Richard Cowan of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said, "His remarks will help move the debate along. Judges are well-situated to see the damage done to the public and to the justice system by these laws."
Cowan says more than 400,000 marijuana arrests are made annually, costing the nations billions of dollars in police and court time and prison space. Posner and other federal judges have complained that sentencing guidelines force them to give unjustly severe prison sentences to relatively minor drug offenders.
'"Prison terms in America have become appallingly long, especially for conduct that, arguably, should not be criminal at all," Posner said. Making marijuana legal, he observed, might take the profit out of sales of illegal drugs and would not necessarily increase drug addiction.
"Only decriminalization is a sure route to a lower crime rate," Posner said. "It is sad that it appears so far below the horizon of political feasibility."
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Posted by: kiel on Sep 10, 2007 10:34 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Since reading that letter, I have not doubted the use of medical marijuana one bit.
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Posted by: lordzombie on Sep 10, 2007 10:58 AM
Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
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» RE: screw them all
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: Dboy's right!
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: alaskagrrl on Sep 10, 2007 11:15 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Alaska is one place. We allow four plants to be growing with four ouces of weed dried and stashed for use and it's COMPLETELY LEGAL ! No Kidding....
Also not widely known is Alaska gives every single citizen a slice of Oil Industry Profits called the Alaska Permanent Fund. This year they will give every single Alaska Resident $1500.00 and they have been doing that for over 20 years. I've personally collected nearly THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. They also give us free fish and enhanced hunting regulations for locals. They even give us free timber and rock for our home construction.
What many don't realize is Alaska is a Natural Paradise wrapped in rolling papers and money. It's the land so many ecovironmentalists wish they had the guts to move to.
How about other places ? Maybe a list of where pot is decriminilized at least ?
To me a medical angle is way off base, using on a weakened population to generate compassion -- something we certainly don't ascribe to in this country. It's a losing proposition.
We in Alaska got it legal on PERSONAL PRIVACY issues alone, IMO the only venue to legalization. Years ago consensual oral sex consucted in private was illegal in many places until this existing Constitutional right was confirmed.
Follow what's WINNING. Just like Oral Sex, private RECREATIONAL use for Weed in Alaska has already WON !!!
We don't need to be sick to smoke it, and we don't need a note from our doctor.
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» RE: Alternet -- help us out here !
Posted by: aonghus36
» They would have to change our constition to succeed
Posted by: alaskagrrl
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Posted by: Lauren on Sep 10, 2007 11:18 AM
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» RE: The First Twelve Thousand Years: Yo Lauren!!
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: The First Twelve Thousand Years: Yo Lauren!!
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: flapdoodle on Sep 10, 2007 11:51 AM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The lies about cannabis began in the forties when synthetic rope was developed and the big corporados wanted to outlaw hemp so they could have the new market to themselves. The myths of "reefer madness" were the result.
But few are falling for that any more. Too much good is being said about it and too many people use it or know someone who does and know that it is harmless at worst, and can be the only thing that will ease the suffering in various medical situations.
The immediate problem isn't the use of this wonderful herb but the huge black market that has developed beause of its illegality. Here in the woods of Mendocino and Humbolt counties, in particular (where the modern version was developed) there are so many huge plantations hidden in the woods that law enforcement can only scratch the surface at best. Last week an operation of 40,000 plants was discovered, and the officers were shot at. It gets worse every year (and these are rarely locals). The woods are being trashed; unused deisel fuel dumped into streams, and so on. Even the local sheriff has said that legalisation is the only way to stop it, since the laws have proven only to be a very effective price support system.
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» RE: Why? 'Local' paper, please cover plight of marijuana law victims.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? To ABC news on their web site March 18, 2006.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? To ABC news on their web site March 18, 2006.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? 'Local' paper, please cover plight of marijuana law victims.
Posted by: rinthy
» More Religious advocacy... maybe the best way to succeed ! (nm)
Posted by: alaskagrrl
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Posted by: donl51 on Sep 10, 2007 12:48 PM
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Posted by: wavydavy on Sep 10, 2007 1:23 PM
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The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care."
US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (September 6, 1988), p. 57.
Full text of decision
The findings of the Administrative Law Judge were not binding, and (surprise, surprise!) were (and still are) ignored by the DEA. And, IIRC, Judge Young was fired shortly after (and, probably, for) rendering this decision.
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Posted by: Onehappyworld on Sep 10, 2007 3:02 PM
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» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: kossack1
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: Onehappyworld
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Posted by: kossack1 on Sep 10, 2007 8:20 PM
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 9:43 PM
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And, it does have medicinal properties. They are not unique to pot, but there are people for whom nothing else seems to work and the problems it can treat are both severe and painful. However, please, can we have a little less of the "Pot is the best medicine known" BS.?? It's a medicinal herb. In other words, like all therapeutic compounds, POT IS A DRUG and its being natural doesn't change that. ALL medicinal products have both therapeutic and undesirable effects. The most common side of any medicine is an exaggerated version of its main mechanism of action. Since pot is a sedative and most often used for control of muscle spasms and pain, sedation is its most common side effect. Weight gain is its other main effect and may be desirable for people with cancer, AIDS and other wasting conditions and undesirable for the person with a strong family history of diabetes or heart disease.
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Posted by: Belegandir on Sep 10, 2007 10:04 PM
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 10:06 PM
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Alcohol is pretty dangerous and fairly addictive. As many as 1/3 of the American adult population is believed to have had 'problem behavior' with alcohol. Of people who define themselves as alcoholics, the best statistics say only 20% die sober. People CAN overdose on alcohol and die of acute alcohol poisoning. Alcohol definitely causes life threatening withdrawal symptoms and seizures in some people (D.T.s or delirium tremens). It kills slowly through rotting the liver and causes permanent brain damage in heavy users.
If a drug causes less harm and is less addictive than alcohol, let's make it legal. This means pot would come in with flying colors since it is one of the safest pharmacologic agents known. Completely decriminalize home growing for personal use. Regulate pot sold by companies so that people know what they're getting and approximately how strong it is. (Don't kid yourself who will be selling pot if it's legal. Big tobacco and Big Pharma have plans already in place for the day it's legalized. I don't trust them to tell the truth about what they do with pot -additives anyone?- than I do with anything else they sell.)
Tax corporate grown pot and use the money to fund drug rehab for all who wish it.
I also believe that advertising of all drugs, but especially addictive and/or psychoactive drugs, should be forbidden. I hate those big billboards with liquor ads. A friend, who at the time was a newly recovering alcoholic, once commented sarcastically to me about an ad where a bottle of Chivas Regal was lying empty on its side: "Let's cut to the chase, take the whole thing home and have a bender why don't we." She said such ads didn't make getting sober any easier on people. For the record, I also think direct advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals to the public should end. Yesterday.
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 10:43 PM
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Among the things I want to know:
Is pot better or worse than opiates or benzodiazepines for pain control and muscle spasms? (I have fibromyalgia, but unfortunately, unlike the lucky lady above, pot does zip for me; in fact, it makes it worse. Opiates work just fine for me, however.)
Just how well does pot work compared to standard glaucoma agents and drugs for Parkinsons? How does it compare to other weight gain inducing drugs like tricyclic antidepressants? Are there preferred routes of administration for some illnesses? Is it better to smoke it for glaucoma but for pain is the sustained release of pot brownies better? Do other drugs make it less or more effective? Does it decrease the effectiveness of any other drugs? Should it be used in combination (which lots of people do right now)? What is the optimum dose? If you were sick, wouldn't you want to know?
Second, there's some important stuff about pot that we don't know and won't know until we can do a long term prospective study on it. Right now it's hard to find people admitting to pot use and it's hard to separate out those who also smoke cigarettes.
There are anecdotal reports of pot causing wheezing and excess mucus production for heavy users, but it's not clear whether this damage can lead to permanent problems from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - emphysema, chronic bronchitits and the like.) It may be that pot's bronchodilating effect may prevent COPD; it may be that a person just can't have a 4 pack a day pot habit, unlike cigarettes; because anyone smoking that amount of pot would be unconscious long before finishing even the first pack. On the other hand, pot is held in the lungs for a longer time.
We also don't know if pot can cause lung cancer. If it does cause it, it doesn't cause a lot of it, far less than cigarettes. And here's the thing: chemically it *should* cause cancer, particularly when smoked wrapped in paper rather than in a pipe. Burning plant substances in paper releases benzylpyridine derivatives, which are nasty carcinogens. There are also microscopic changes in the lungs of pot smokers that should lead to cancer, but even so, we are just not seeing all these cases. Some studies say there is a cancer risk, others contradict them. At least one study suggests that pot contains chemicals called endocannibinoids which are tumor suppressing.
Tobacco, OTH, has known carcinogens all its own and not only do they cause lung and oral cancer (chewing the stuff is no solution) but both cause other cancers and make existing cancers far more aggressive. Cervical cancer is particularly known to occur more in smokers and to kill faster.
We don't really know whether pot use in pregnancy is safe or what effects it might have in each trimester (1st trimester is generally when the fetus is most sensitive, but it is the 3rd trimester when brain growth really gets going. Do cannabinoids affect what happens to fetal brain receptors?). One study says pot is not good during pregnancy, but it didn't clearly separate out pot from tobacco and alcohol use, both of which are known to cause birth defects. I think common sense right now says "do not use if pregnant" (except *maybe* during labor itself) until we know for sure. The fetus is so damn sensitive to everything and it's silly to eat only organic food and not drink but then smoke pot, which lots of "natural" types will do.
Also, it would be really good to know if certain people really are at risk of psychosis from heavy pot use and find a way to screen them out.
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» RE: Speaking as a nurse part 3:
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: fixitt on Sep 11, 2007 1:11 AM
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They want votes, and if being against this topic became 'nuk-ya-ler' and would cost them their jobs in '08, they just might do something right for once.
Rev. Don
Pain patient since 1988 - marijuana patient since 2000, spinal cord injury.
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Posted by: vasumurti on Sep 11, 2007 11:18 AM
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"The use of wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping emerged during the Prohibition era. Roy Olmstead was a suspected bootlegger whom the government wished to search. It placed taps in the basement of his office building and on wires in the streets near his home. No physical entry into his office or home took place. Olmstead was convicted entirely on the basis of evidence from the wiretaps.
"In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Olmstead argued that the taps were a search conducted without a warrant and without probable cause, and that the evidence seized against him should have been excluded because it was illegally gathered. He also argued that his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself was violated.
"By a 5-4 vote, the Court rejected his arguments and upheld the government's power to wiretap without limit and without any Fourth Amendment restrictions, on the grounds that no actual physical intrusion had taken place.
"Olmstead's Fifth Amendment claim was also dismissed on the grounds that he had not been compelled to talk on the telephone, but had done so voluntarily. Thus the Court upheld the government's power to do by trickery and surreptitious means what it was not permitted to do honestly and openly. It wasn't until 1967, in a similar case involving gambling, that the Court overruled the Olmstead decision by an 8-1 margin and recognized that the Fourth Amendment applied to wiretapping and electronic surveillance.
"Interestingly, these cases arose in the context of crimes like bootlegging and gambling. During the past twenty years, the majority of wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping by both state and federal officials has been in cases involving drug dealing and gambling.
"Serious crimes of violence, such as homicide, assault, rape, robbery, and burglary, are rarely the target of electronic eavesdropping, which is not normally a useful tool in such cases.
"From the beginning, when wiretapping was virtually invented to enforce laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol, to the late 1960s, when gambling was a major target, to the present, when the use and sale of drugs other than alcohol are the main target, these intrusive devices have been used mostly to enforce laws aimed at punishing and proscribing personal conduct that society deems immoral.
"Because such conduct essentially involves private activities among consenting adults who are all likely to want to keep those activities secret, they are harder to investigate and prosecute than crimes like robbery or burglary, in which an unwilling victim will probably aid any investigation...the invasion of privacy inherent in wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping remains with us as part of the legacy of our attempts to criminalize personal conduct.
"The other major use of electronic eavesdropping has been to punish political dissent. For decades, former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover used wiretaps and other electronic devices to spy on political figures and citizens not yet suspected of having committed a crime. He built vast dossiers on their political activities and personal lives. Special units of local police called 'Red Squads' did the same."
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Posted by: dougo on Sep 11, 2007 9:17 PM
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Posted by: donl51 on Sep 12, 2007 9:01 AM
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» RE: Personal experience
Posted by: aonghus36
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Posted by: richholland on Sep 10, 2007 4:23 AM
Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
why not accept tolerance for medical potsmokers, why not allow homegrowers to some plants and arrest gangsters and CEOof large drugcoorporations.
wether you are hooked to smoking crack, tobacco, pot, working 60 hours a week, overweighted and still daily in McDonalds you live in the land of Free and Brave but you are a slave.
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Posted by: Setnakt on Sep 10, 2007 4:43 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Note the word "drug" I capitalized in refering to actual drugs, never Marijuana which is a PLANT not a drug. The Earth and god(s) make plants, man makes drugs. Man does not make Marijuana, mankind is at war with the Earth and (the) god(s), the war against gods creation, including Marijuana is proof of that.
And (2) the government is ran primarly by Xians who REALLY don't give a rats ass about human beings, and especially those in pain. Well except in taking sadistic enjoyment in seeing others suffer. Like the Evil inhuman monster they worship, they (Xians) also worship terror, evil, and missery. At least in inflicting it on others and watching them in pain, "because your a sinner and diserve it!". And of course all pleasure is "sin" itself. Anything that brings any pleasure must have massive negative side effects (like man-made DRUGS or Alcohol) or it's "illegal". Marijuana has no such negative so it's the Xian anti-god facist governments worst enemy.
When I had 3rd degree burns from a house fire Marijuana was the ONLY thing that helped. The burns are healed and I continue to use Marijuana (with my adult children also) now for nice healthy safe pleasurable fun. Screw the government I don't recognise "laws" from a lower authority over a higher one. And no anti-god, anti-life, anti-humanity, government of man has authority over the Earth and the creation of the most high. Becides with the a-hole in the highest office in the land totaly ignoring Federal Constitutional Law and International Law, why the hell would any sane indivual do more than laugh at Marijuana "laws" (and of course take needed precautions against the jackbooted robat pig cops of the thug coward politicans) having any meaning compaired to Presidental treason? Screw um!
Reverend Setnakt, SoT/SoA
~Xeper~
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» RE: Typical!
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: Typical! Yo, Setnakt!! Please don't put ALL
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: Typical! Yo, Setnakt!! Please don't put ALL
Posted by: aonghus36
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Posted by: Paxmana1 on Sep 10, 2007 4:59 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The plant has been used since history began .. the reefer madness mythology was probably initiated by the alcohol barons after the laughable prohibition era with its crime wave, machine guns and that gum boil Eliot Ness.
At this point in time it is used more for recreational purposes than as a medicine. Its usefulness as a medicine would cut into Pharmageddons bottom line .. it is no secret that the FDA and the BMC are shills for the synthetic drug barons.
Alcohol is legal .. the death toll from it is horrendous .. the crimes of great violence committed under its influence are legion .. it destruction of mind and body and especially when it has reached the addiction zone is well documented.
There has to be further reasons for its prohibition and the great sums of money spent in enforcing what is basically unenforceable.
Used for recreation it is mind expanding unless it is abused ..
It reveals many things especially how we as a society have been got at .. first in our formative years of state schooling .. and secondly with the Sheeples Orwellian Booby Tube with its subliminal messages .. and thirdly by political and commercial control of the print media both electronically and hard copy.
This is not good for business or politics if people become aware of what a seriously distorted society we in the western world live in and accept as normal .. unlike alcohol it does not promote violence ..
But then again if people understood what is being done to them with the mind control techniques and the medical drugs it could provoke wide spread unrest .. that would never do would it?
It may make war illegal .. that would never do would it ?
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Posted by: MadFlacc on Sep 10, 2007 6:25 AM
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» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: kmac
» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: lordzombie
» RE: A new tactic
Posted by: houseoftwits
» RE: A new tactic: So far all the replies to 'a new tactic' are
Posted by: SamFox
» Monthly Public Blazing Day
Posted by: Raybo
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Posted by: Dboy on Sep 10, 2007 6:25 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
dboy
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Posted by: LMNOP on Sep 10, 2007 6:48 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When are YOU going to wake up? Your goventment doesn't give a rat's ass about you or your comfort, and it will harass and persecute you even unto suicide if you dare defy them by trying to find relief in a way that challenges their beer profits and authori-tay. You probably love your country. But clearly, it doesn't love you.
"I just hope some day the government will stop demonizing a very useful tool."
America will be the very last country to decriminalize marijuana just as it was the last to outlaw slavery. This is a cruel, judgmental and hypocritical culture.
"If marijuana can help me with all my other problems in addition to possibly reducing the size of my tumor and extending my life, then why on earth would our government not allow me to have it?""
Because, as I said, it doesn't give a rat's pitoot about you, sir. America is about profit, not health, happiness or comfort. What other interpretation is possible?
Speaking last month to the Associated Press, Tom Riley -- spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- launched into an all too common ad hominem attack against medical marijuana and those who advocate for its regulation. "There is a charade going on here," he charged. "[P]eople who are interested in drug legalization using genuinely sick people as pawns to get sympathy to get their agenda through."
Listen to this f**king Republicanhypocrite (one word). The government's own anti-marijuana campaign is nothing but disingenuous red herrings about the dangers or ineffectiveness of marijuana as a medicine, or its use financing terrorists (no, that's the American government's own trafficking in cocaine that was used to finance al-Contra in Nicaragua to terrorize the democratically elected Ortega government). Who's being disingenuous here? Who's the terrorist here?
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» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word)
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word)
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: LMNOP
» RE: epublicanhypocrites (one word): It is not JUST
Posted by: Dboy
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Posted by: VZEQICVA on Sep 10, 2007 7:36 AM
Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
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» RE: MAYBE IGNORING IT IS THE WAY TO GO
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: MAYBE IGNORING IT IS THE WAY TO GO
Posted by: VZEQICVA
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Posted by: picket on Sep 10, 2007 8:59 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One thing to do is to"OUT" the hypocrites. Make Prohibition POLITICALLY INCORRECT. The citizen who has no health insurance or access to medical care and has pain in most cases will self medicate, with alcohol and tylenol. Contrary to REPUB belief Americans DO work hard and have real physical PAIN. Too much of that LEGAL combination is really hazardous to your health, unlike Cannabis.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman...Michael Long.....re NYS Legislature push to legalize Medical Cannabis...."the measure could encourage fraud among unethical physicians trying to cash in on writing prescriptions" Blame prohibition on the people trying to relieve human suffering, that is a good one.
From what rock did that politician crawl out???
Check out the LEAP Law Enforcement Against Prohibition....leap.cc
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Posted by: alaskagrrl on Sep 10, 2007 9:23 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
But YOU are never going to win with current tactics.
I live in a logging area and I know one certain thing: Marijuana fiber would destroy the market for wood pulp. Clearcuts must happen (management wise) to provide cheap wood for your homes.... what do you do with the 2/3 of the forest that CAN"T be used for building ? It's made into pulp.
Basically all paper, toilet tissue, diapers, cardboard and plates are a by-product of the timber industry ! And YOU support the timber industry just like you support the oil industry !
Be honest here -- how much paper runs through your printer ? Bathroom ? Weekend Picnic ?
Replacing that fiber source with someting better would destroy the timber industry, same as the oil industry, chemical industry and yes the Big Pharma industry. Hemp is the bane of corporatism and there is no going forward along your current lines, it just isn't economical especially when you are part of the problem.
If you want to get Marijuana (or any other natural herb like Opium) legalized there is only one path -- as a Religion.
Think about it: God in his Bible clearly states that ALL things created are done so for the use of Mankind, and that ALL things created are good. Try shoving that down the throats of Christian Conservatives and you might have some success. There is HUGE Biblical support for this position in Corinthians for a start.
If God created it mankind shouldn't have the power to legislate it. Religious fervor is your only chance....
In the meantime, if you are really sick you could simply move to one of the most beautiful places on earth and grow FOUR PLANTS with have FOUR OUNCES set aside for use -- the terms of the 1975 Raven Decision. That's a lot of weed for anyone !
Look it up for yourselves if you don't believe me. Pot is ABSOLUTELY LEGAL in the privacy of your home in Alaska.
Stop snivelling and get out there and do something ! Become and activist or pack your bags and move to a place where you can get your medicine.
The clean air and water will do you some good,
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» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: richholland
» Good idea -- I'll post a request ! (nm)
Posted by: alaskagrrl
» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: aonghus36
» Let them just try it.... they have before
Posted by: alaskagrrl
» RE: You're missing the point....
Posted by: LeeAnnG
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Posted by: vasumurti on Sep 10, 2007 10:21 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Alcohol prohibition in the United States was repealed after just thirteen years while the prohibition of other drugs has continued for over 75 years. Why? Alcohol prohibition struck directly at society's most powerful members. The prohibition of other drugs, by contrast, threatened far fewer Americans with hardly any political power.
Only the prohibition of marijuana, which some sixty million Americans have violated since 1965, has come close to approximating the Prohibition era experience, but marijuana smokers consist mostly of young and relatively powerless Americans.
Richard Posner, Chicago's chief federal appeals judge, and one of the nation's leading legal scholars, says marijuana use should be legalized as a way of reducing crime. Posner, a Reagan administration appointee once described by American Lawyer magazine as "the most brilliant judge in the country," explained his views on marijuana in The Times Literary Supplement, a British publication, and in an interview that followed shortly thereafter.
"It is nonsense that we should be devoting so many law enforcement resources to marijuana," said Posner. "I am skeptical that a society that is so tolerant of alcohol and cigarettes should come down so hard on marijuana use and send people to prison for life without parole."
Posner, chief judge of the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, is the highest-ranking judge to publicly favor the repeal of marijuana laws. Several judges of the federal district court, a level lower than the appeals court, have made similar calls, including Robert Sweet of New York and James Paine of Florida, both Carter Administration appointees.
New York University law professor Burt Neuborne said it’s significant that "one of the leading intellectuals in the judicial system recognizes that the laws don’t seem to be working well."
Richard Cowan of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said, "His remarks will help move the debate along. Judges are well-situated to see the damage done to the public and to the justice system by these laws."
Cowan says more than 400,000 marijuana arrests are made annually, costing the nations billions of dollars in police and court time and prison space. Posner and other federal judges have complained that sentencing guidelines force them to give unjustly severe prison sentences to relatively minor drug offenders.
'"Prison terms in America have become appallingly long, especially for conduct that, arguably, should not be criminal at all," Posner said. Making marijuana legal, he observed, might take the profit out of sales of illegal drugs and would not necessarily increase drug addiction.
"Only decriminalization is a sure route to a lower crime rate," Posner said. "It is sad that it appears so far below the horizon of political feasibility."
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Posted by: kiel on Sep 10, 2007 10:34 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Since reading that letter, I have not doubted the use of medical marijuana one bit.
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Posted by: lordzombie on Sep 10, 2007 10:58 AM
Current rating: 3 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
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» RE: screw them all
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: Dboy's right!
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: alaskagrrl on Sep 10, 2007 11:15 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Alaska is one place. We allow four plants to be growing with four ouces of weed dried and stashed for use and it's COMPLETELY LEGAL ! No Kidding....
Also not widely known is Alaska gives every single citizen a slice of Oil Industry Profits called the Alaska Permanent Fund. This year they will give every single Alaska Resident $1500.00 and they have been doing that for over 20 years. I've personally collected nearly THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. They also give us free fish and enhanced hunting regulations for locals. They even give us free timber and rock for our home construction.
What many don't realize is Alaska is a Natural Paradise wrapped in rolling papers and money. It's the land so many ecovironmentalists wish they had the guts to move to.
How about other places ? Maybe a list of where pot is decriminilized at least ?
To me a medical angle is way off base, using on a weakened population to generate compassion -- something we certainly don't ascribe to in this country. It's a losing proposition.
We in Alaska got it legal on PERSONAL PRIVACY issues alone, IMO the only venue to legalization. Years ago consensual oral sex consucted in private was illegal in many places until this existing Constitutional right was confirmed.
Follow what's WINNING. Just like Oral Sex, private RECREATIONAL use for Weed in Alaska has already WON !!!
We don't need to be sick to smoke it, and we don't need a note from our doctor.
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» RE: Alternet -- help us out here !
Posted by: aonghus36
» They would have to change our constition to succeed
Posted by: alaskagrrl
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Posted by: Lauren on Sep 10, 2007 11:18 AM
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» RE: The First Twelve Thousand Years: Yo Lauren!!
Posted by: SamFox
» RE: The First Twelve Thousand Years: Yo Lauren!!
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: flapdoodle on Sep 10, 2007 11:51 AM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The lies about cannabis began in the forties when synthetic rope was developed and the big corporados wanted to outlaw hemp so they could have the new market to themselves. The myths of "reefer madness" were the result.
But few are falling for that any more. Too much good is being said about it and too many people use it or know someone who does and know that it is harmless at worst, and can be the only thing that will ease the suffering in various medical situations.
The immediate problem isn't the use of this wonderful herb but the huge black market that has developed beause of its illegality. Here in the woods of Mendocino and Humbolt counties, in particular (where the modern version was developed) there are so many huge plantations hidden in the woods that law enforcement can only scratch the surface at best. Last week an operation of 40,000 plants was discovered, and the officers were shot at. It gets worse every year (and these are rarely locals). The woods are being trashed; unused deisel fuel dumped into streams, and so on. Even the local sheriff has said that legalisation is the only way to stop it, since the laws have proven only to be a very effective price support system.
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» RE: Why? 'Local' paper, please cover plight of marijuana law victims.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? To ABC news on their web site March 18, 2006.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? To ABC news on their web site March 18, 2006.
Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Why? 'Local' paper, please cover plight of marijuana law victims.
Posted by: rinthy
» More Religious advocacy... maybe the best way to succeed ! (nm)
Posted by: alaskagrrl
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Posted by: donl51 on Sep 10, 2007 12:48 PM
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Posted by: wavydavy on Sep 10, 2007 1:23 PM
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The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care."
US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (September 6, 1988), p. 57.
Full text of decision
The findings of the Administrative Law Judge were not binding, and (surprise, surprise!) were (and still are) ignored by the DEA. And, IIRC, Judge Young was fired shortly after (and, probably, for) rendering this decision.
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Posted by: Onehappyworld on Sep 10, 2007 3:02 PM
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» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: aonghus36
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: Dboy
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: kossack1
» RE: Pot is soooooo good
Posted by: Onehappyworld
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Posted by: kossack1 on Sep 10, 2007 8:20 PM
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 9:43 PM
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And, it does have medicinal properties. They are not unique to pot, but there are people for whom nothing else seems to work and the problems it can treat are both severe and painful. However, please, can we have a little less of the "Pot is the best medicine known" BS.?? It's a medicinal herb. In other words, like all therapeutic compounds, POT IS A DRUG and its being natural doesn't change that. ALL medicinal products have both therapeutic and undesirable effects. The most common side of any medicine is an exaggerated version of its main mechanism of action. Since pot is a sedative and most often used for control of muscle spasms and pain, sedation is its most common side effect. Weight gain is its other main effect and may be desirable for people with cancer, AIDS and other wasting conditions and undesirable for the person with a strong family history of diabetes or heart disease.
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Posted by: Belegandir on Sep 10, 2007 10:04 PM
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 10:06 PM
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Alcohol is pretty dangerous and fairly addictive. As many as 1/3 of the American adult population is believed to have had 'problem behavior' with alcohol. Of people who define themselves as alcoholics, the best statistics say only 20% die sober. People CAN overdose on alcohol and die of acute alcohol poisoning. Alcohol definitely causes life threatening withdrawal symptoms and seizures in some people (D.T.s or delirium tremens). It kills slowly through rotting the liver and causes permanent brain damage in heavy users.
If a drug causes less harm and is less addictive than alcohol, let's make it legal. This means pot would come in with flying colors since it is one of the safest pharmacologic agents known. Completely decriminalize home growing for personal use. Regulate pot sold by companies so that people know what they're getting and approximately how strong it is. (Don't kid yourself who will be selling pot if it's legal. Big tobacco and Big Pharma have plans already in place for the day it's legalized. I don't trust them to tell the truth about what they do with pot -additives anyone?- than I do with anything else they sell.)
Tax corporate grown pot and use the money to fund drug rehab for all who wish it.
I also believe that advertising of all drugs, but especially addictive and/or psychoactive drugs, should be forbidden. I hate those big billboards with liquor ads. A friend, who at the time was a newly recovering alcoholic, once commented sarcastically to me about an ad where a bottle of Chivas Regal was lying empty on its side: "Let's cut to the chase, take the whole thing home and have a bender why don't we." She said such ads didn't make getting sober any easier on people. For the record, I also think direct advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals to the public should end. Yesterday.
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Posted by: Camilla Cracchiolo on Sep 10, 2007 10:43 PM
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Among the things I want to know:
Is pot better or worse than opiates or benzodiazepines for pain control and muscle spasms? (I have fibromyalgia, but unfortunately, unlike the lucky lady above, pot does zip for me; in fact, it makes it worse. Opiates work just fine for me, however.)
Just how well does pot work compared to standard glaucoma agents and drugs for Parkinsons? How does it compare to other weight gain inducing drugs like tricyclic antidepressants? Are there preferred routes of administration for some illnesses? Is it better to smoke it for glaucoma but for pain is the sustained release of pot brownies better? Do other drugs make it less or more effective? Does it decrease the effectiveness of any other drugs? Should it be used in combination (which lots of people do right now)? What is the optimum dose? If you were sick, wouldn't you want to know?
Second, there's some important stuff about pot that we don't know and won't know until we can do a long term prospective study on it. Right now it's hard to find people admitting to pot use and it's hard to separate out those who also smoke cigarettes.
There are anecdotal reports of pot causing wheezing and excess mucus production for heavy users, but it's not clear whether this damage can lead to permanent problems from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - emphysema, chronic bronchitits and the like.) It may be that pot's bronchodilating effect may prevent COPD; it may be that a person just can't have a 4 pack a day pot habit, unlike cigarettes; because anyone smoking that amount of pot would be unconscious long before finishing even the first pack. On the other hand, pot is held in the lungs for a longer time.
We also don't know if pot can cause lung cancer. If it does cause it, it doesn't cause a lot of it, far less than cigarettes. And here's the thing: chemically it *should* cause cancer, particularly when smoked wrapped in paper rather than in a pipe. Burning plant substances in paper releases benzylpyridine derivatives, which are nasty carcinogens. There are also microscopic changes in the lungs of pot smokers that should lead to cancer, but even so, we are just not seeing all these cases. Some studies say there is a cancer risk, others contradict them. At least one study suggests that pot contains chemicals called endocannibinoids which are tumor suppressing.
Tobacco, OTH, has known carcinogens all its own and not only do they cause lung and oral cancer (chewing the stuff is no solution) but both cause other cancers and make existing cancers far more aggressive. Cervical cancer is particularly known to occur more in smokers and to kill faster.
We don't really know whether pot use in pregnancy is safe or what effects it might have in each trimester (1st trimester is generally when the fetus is most sensitive, but it is the 3rd trimester when brain growth really gets going. Do cannabinoids affect what happens to fetal brain receptors?). One study says pot is not good during pregnancy, but it didn't clearly separate out pot from tobacco and alcohol use, both of which are known to cause birth defects. I think common sense right now says "do not use if pregnant" (except *maybe* during labor itself) until we know for sure. The fetus is so damn sensitive to everything and it's silly to eat only organic food and not drink but then smoke pot, which lots of "natural" types will do.
Also, it would be really good to know if certain people really are at risk of psychosis from heavy pot use and find a way to screen them out.
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» RE: Speaking as a nurse part 3:
Posted by: Lauren
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Posted by: fixitt on Sep 11, 2007 1:11 AM
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They want votes, and if being against this topic became 'nuk-ya-ler' and would cost them their jobs in '08, they just might do something right for once.
Rev. Don
Pain patient since 1988 - marijuana patient since 2000, spinal cord injury.
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Posted by: vasumurti on Sep 11, 2007 11:18 AM
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"The use of wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping emerged during the Prohibition era. Roy Olmstead was a suspected bootlegger whom the government wished to search. It placed taps in the basement of his office building and on wires in the streets near his home. No physical entry into his office or home took place. Olmstead was convicted entirely on the basis of evidence from the wiretaps.
"In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Olmstead argued that the taps were a search conducted without a warrant and without probable cause, and that the evidence seized against him should have been excluded because it was illegally gathered. He also argued that his Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against himself was violated.
"By a 5-4 vote, the Court rejected his arguments and upheld the government's power to wiretap without limit and without any Fourth Amendment restrictions, on the grounds that no actual physical intrusion had taken place.
"Olmstead's Fifth Amendment claim was also dismissed on the grounds that he had not been compelled to talk on the telephone, but had done so voluntarily. Thus the Court upheld the government's power to do by trickery and surreptitious means what it was not permitted to do honestly and openly. It wasn't until 1967, in a similar case involving gambling, that the Court overruled the Olmstead decision by an 8-1 margin and recognized that the Fourth Amendment applied to wiretapping and electronic surveillance.
"Interestingly, these cases arose in the context of crimes like bootlegging and gambling. During the past twenty years, the majority of wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping by both state and federal officials has been in cases involving drug dealing and gambling.
"Serious crimes of violence, such as homicide, assault, rape, robbery, and burglary, are rarely the target of electronic eavesdropping, which is not normally a useful tool in such cases.
"From the beginning, when wiretapping was virtually invented to enforce laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol, to the late 1960s, when gambling was a major target, to the present, when the use and sale of drugs other than alcohol are the main target, these intrusive devices have been used mostly to enforce laws aimed at punishing and proscribing personal conduct that society deems immoral.
"Because such conduct essentially involves private activities among consenting adults who are all likely to want to keep those activities secret, they are harder to investigate and prosecute than crimes like robbery or burglary, in which an unwilling victim will probably aid any investigation...the invasion of privacy inherent in wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping remains with us as part of the legacy of our attempts to criminalize personal conduct.
"The other major use of electronic eavesdropping has been to punish political dissent. For decades, former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover used wiretaps and other electronic devices to spy on political figures and citizens not yet suspected of having committed a crime. He built vast dossiers on their political activities and personal lives. Special units of local police called 'Red Squads' did the same."
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Posted by: dougo on Sep 11, 2007 9:17 PM
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Posted by: donl51 on Sep 12, 2007 9:01 AM
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» RE: Personal experience
Posted by: aonghus36
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