For 30 years, Donald Tashkin has studied the effects of marijuana on lung function. His work has been funded by the vehemently anti-marijuana National Institute on Drug Abuse, which has long sought to demonstrate that marijuana causes lung cancer. After 3 decades of anti-drug research, here’s what Tashkin has to say about marijuana laws:
“Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects,” Tashkin says. “But at this point, I’d be in favor of legalization.
Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm.
UCLA’s Tashkin studied heavy marijuana smokers to determine whether the use led to increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He hypothesized that there would be a definitive link between cancer and marijuana smoking, but the results proved otherwise.
“What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect,” says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted.
Prejudice against marijuana and smoking in general runs so deep for many people that it just seems inconceivable that marijuana could actually reduce the risk of lung cancer. ...
“Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects,” Tashkin says. “But at this point, I’d be in favor of legalization.
Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm.
UCLA’s Tashkin studied heavy marijuana smokers to determine whether the use led to increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He hypothesized that there would be a definitive link between cancer and marijuana smoking, but the results proved otherwise.
“What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect,” says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted.
Prejudice against marijuana and smoking in general runs so deep for many people that it just seems inconceivable that marijuana could actually reduce the risk of lung cancer. ...
California voters have a chance on this November's ballot to bring common sense to law enforcement by legalizing marijuana for adults. As San Jose's retired chief of police and a cop with 35 years experience on the front lines in the war on marijuana, I'm voting yes.
I've seen the prohibition's terrible impact at close range.
Like an increasing number of law enforcers, I have learned that most bad things about marijuana - especially the violence made inevitable by an obscenely profitable black market - are caused by the prohibition, not by the plant. Legal marijuana is long overdue, but leading up to November, wrongheaded opponents will implore Californians with the same old mistaken arguments to stay the course. Prohibition advocates will promote fear, and they will ignore the vast bulk of law enforcement and medical experience on marijuana. People should not be fooled by cannabis opponents' appeal to prejudices and emotions...
I've seen the prohibition's terrible impact at close range.
Like an increasing number of law enforcers, I have learned that most bad things about marijuana - especially the violence made inevitable by an obscenely profitable black market - are caused by the prohibition, not by the plant. Legal marijuana is long overdue, but leading up to November, wrongheaded opponents will implore Californians with the same old mistaken arguments to stay the course. Prohibition advocates will promote fear, and they will ignore the vast bulk of law enforcement and medical experience on marijuana. People should not be fooled by cannabis opponents' appeal to prejudices and emotions...
Whaddya nuts?
... Advocated by the Coalition for a Safer Detroit -- the group that successfully got medical marijuana placed on the ballot in 2004, which passed -- the ordinance would amend Chapter 38 of the city code regulating controlled substances.
Tim Beck, a registered medical marijuana user who filed the petitions, says the amended ordinance would "free up the Police Department to pursue crimes with actual victims."
In 2009, Beck said, there were 1,500 arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Detroit. ...
Tim Beck, a registered medical marijuana user who filed the petitions, says the amended ordinance would "free up the Police Department to pursue crimes with actual victims."
In 2009, Beck said, there were 1,500 arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Detroit. ...
Nice one, dear Fred.
We've known this since the 70s.
Huh, and here I thought I was a tea fiend.
Idiots. They should ban alcohol sales to touristos instead. All their problems would be solved.
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
A Detroiter who helped lead the drive to allow medical marijuana in Michigan is pushing for something bound to be equally controversial: legalizing pot in the city of Detroit.
"You've done a great job," meeting the detailed filing requirements, City Clerk Janice Winfrey said Wednesday as Tim Beck handed over more than 6,100 petition signatures.
Beck, 58, spent five weeks overseeing the collection of many more than the 3,700 signatures needed to get Detroit's November ballot to include his proposal. It would legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of pot on private property by adults 21 and older. ...
"You've done a great job," meeting the detailed filing requirements, City Clerk Janice Winfrey said Wednesday as Tim Beck handed over more than 6,100 petition signatures.
Beck, 58, spent five weeks overseeing the collection of many more than the 3,700 signatures needed to get Detroit's November ballot to include his proposal. It would legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of pot on private property by adults 21 and older. ...
An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 people all exhale marijuana smoke as the clock hits 4:20pm on Norlin Quad at the University of Colorado in Boulder
A man with a marijuana plant painted on his hair attends the 420 event in Vancouver
A man with a marijuana plant painted on his hair attends the 420 event in Vancouver
Medical Marijuana Bill Moves Through Maryland Senate In Landslide
First Posted: 04-10-10
The Maryland Senate voted on Saturday to allow patients access to medical marijuana at state-licensed dispensaries. The bill now moves to the state's lower chamber.
The bill was approved overwhelmingly, with bipartisan support and without objections or discussion, by a 35-12 margin.
Maryland would join 14 other states in legalizing medical marijuana. The neighboring District of Columbia legalized it in a 1998 referendum that was only recently allowed by Congress to go into effect. The District's city council is writing rules to establish the city's medical marijuana policy.
Current Maryland law allows defendants charged with pot possession to cite a medical necessity defense. If a judge deems the drug to be beneficial, a maximum hundred dollar civil fine is imposed.
Lawmakers and advocates argued that the law unfairly forced patients to obtain marijuana in the black market. The new law would bring transparency and regulation to the industry.
"I'm very proud of my Senate colleagues today for voting to provide some of our most vulnerable residents with the compassion and care that they deserve," said Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick), the bill's sponsor and a two-time cancer survivor. "Anyone who has watched a loved one suffer from a debilitating illness would agree that we should not stand between doctors and patients, or deprive seriously ill people safe access to a legitimate medicine if it can help them cope with their illness." ...
First Posted: 04-10-10
The Maryland Senate voted on Saturday to allow patients access to medical marijuana at state-licensed dispensaries. The bill now moves to the state's lower chamber.
The bill was approved overwhelmingly, with bipartisan support and without objections or discussion, by a 35-12 margin.
Maryland would join 14 other states in legalizing medical marijuana. The neighboring District of Columbia legalized it in a 1998 referendum that was only recently allowed by Congress to go into effect. The District's city council is writing rules to establish the city's medical marijuana policy.
Current Maryland law allows defendants charged with pot possession to cite a medical necessity defense. If a judge deems the drug to be beneficial, a maximum hundred dollar civil fine is imposed.
Lawmakers and advocates argued that the law unfairly forced patients to obtain marijuana in the black market. The new law would bring transparency and regulation to the industry.
"I'm very proud of my Senate colleagues today for voting to provide some of our most vulnerable residents with the compassion and care that they deserve," said Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick), the bill's sponsor and a two-time cancer survivor. "Anyone who has watched a loved one suffer from a debilitating illness would agree that we should not stand between doctors and patients, or deprive seriously ill people safe access to a legitimate medicine if it can help them cope with their illness." ...
Friday, Apr 9, 2010 17:09 EDT
Making the case for marijuana
It's time for reformers to play up the safety claim for pot: It's less dangerous than alcohol
By David Sirota
When choosing between frugality and security, history shows that America almost always selects the latter. To paraphrase President Kennedy, we'll pay any price and bear any burden to protect ourselves.
No doubt this was why the economic case against the Iraq invasion failed. To many, the war debate seemed to pose a binary question: debt or mushroom clouds? And when it’s a scuffle between money arguments and security arguments (even dishonest security arguments), security wins every time.
Call this the Pay-Any-Price Principle -- an axiom that has impacted all of America's wars, and now, most poignantly, its War on Drugs. When faced with criticism of budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, law enforcement agencies and private prison interests have successfully depicted their cause as a willingness to pay any price to jail dealers of hard narcotics.
Of course, data undermine that storyline. In 2008, the FBI reported that 82 percent of drug arrests were for possession -- not sales or manufacturing -- and almost half of those arrests were for marijuana, not hard drugs.
Fortunately, these numbers are seeping into the public consciousness. Gallup's latest survey shows record support for marijuana legalization, as more Americans see the Drug War for what it really is: an ideological and profit-making crusade by the Arrest-and-Incarceration Complex against a substance that is, according to most physicians, less toxic than alcohol.
Considering both the public opinion shift and the facts about marijuana, this should be the moment that drug policy reformers drop their budget attacks and flip the security argument on their opponents -- specifically, by pointing out how safety is actually compromised by the status quo.
The good news is that some activists are making this very case. ...
Making the case for marijuana
It's time for reformers to play up the safety claim for pot: It's less dangerous than alcohol
By David Sirota
When choosing between frugality and security, history shows that America almost always selects the latter. To paraphrase President Kennedy, we'll pay any price and bear any burden to protect ourselves.
No doubt this was why the economic case against the Iraq invasion failed. To many, the war debate seemed to pose a binary question: debt or mushroom clouds? And when it’s a scuffle between money arguments and security arguments (even dishonest security arguments), security wins every time.
Call this the Pay-Any-Price Principle -- an axiom that has impacted all of America's wars, and now, most poignantly, its War on Drugs. When faced with criticism of budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, law enforcement agencies and private prison interests have successfully depicted their cause as a willingness to pay any price to jail dealers of hard narcotics.
Of course, data undermine that storyline. In 2008, the FBI reported that 82 percent of drug arrests were for possession -- not sales or manufacturing -- and almost half of those arrests were for marijuana, not hard drugs.
Fortunately, these numbers are seeping into the public consciousness. Gallup's latest survey shows record support for marijuana legalization, as more Americans see the Drug War for what it really is: an ideological and profit-making crusade by the Arrest-and-Incarceration Complex against a substance that is, according to most physicians, less toxic than alcohol.
Considering both the public opinion shift and the facts about marijuana, this should be the moment that drug policy reformers drop their budget attacks and flip the security argument on their opponents -- specifically, by pointing out how safety is actually compromised by the status quo.
The good news is that some activists are making this very case. ...
... Advocates of a mythical "drug free" world may want to put the genie back in the bottle, but we simply can't pretend, ignore or arrest our way out of today's realities. As this country learned by banning alcohol sales in the 1920s and '30s, prohibition of a widely popular commodity will never work. Marijuana prohibition causes more social harm than good in the form of mass arrests, wasted criminal justice resources, out-of-control youth access, and unregulated products consumed by millions. It's time to regulate adult use of marijuana once and for all.
After adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of HNSCC [odds ratio (OR)10-<20 years versus never users, 0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.67]. Among marijuana users moderate weekly use was associated with reduced risk (OR0.5-<1.5 times versus <0.5 time, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32-0.85). The magnitude of reduced risk was more pronounced for those who started use at an older age (OR15-<20 years versus never users, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30-0.95; OR≥20 years versus never users, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17-0.90; Ptrend < 0.001). These inverse associations did not depend on human papillomavirus 16 antibody status. However, for the subjects who have the same level of smoking or alcohol drinking, we observed attenuated risk of HNSCC among those who use marijuana compared with those who do not.
Our study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk of HNSCC.
Our study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk of HNSCC.
Thousands of marijuana proponents, many openly smoking the drug, crowded the University of Michigan's Diag on Saturday for the 39th-annual Hash Bash.
Police estimated 5,000 people were there, drawn by sunshine as well as enthusiasm for Michigan's 15-month-old law legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"How many of you are patients? Hold up your cards!" shouted Hash Bash emcee Adam Brook, 42, of Royal Oak.
Hundreds held aloft the state cards that show they are patients who can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of the weed.
Openly smoking was Dennis Stoffer, 45, of Port Huron, in a wheelchair since a 2006 motorcycle accident.
"Time to come out and support the cause," said his wife, Becky Stoffer, 53.
Marijuana is much better for her husband than the side effects of the powerful pain pills he once took, she said.
"The only side effect (from marijuana) is him getting the munchies," she said, referring to the drug's tendency to make users hungry.
Some held signs that demanded the drug's full legalization.
"This is the next generation of activists," said speaker Anthony Freed, 32, of Clark Lake -- patting the back of U-M senior Chris Chiles, 21, a chemistry major from Farmington who founded the university's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. ...
Police estimated 5,000 people were there, drawn by sunshine as well as enthusiasm for Michigan's 15-month-old law legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"How many of you are patients? Hold up your cards!" shouted Hash Bash emcee Adam Brook, 42, of Royal Oak.
Hundreds held aloft the state cards that show they are patients who can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of the weed.
Openly smoking was Dennis Stoffer, 45, of Port Huron, in a wheelchair since a 2006 motorcycle accident.
"Time to come out and support the cause," said his wife, Becky Stoffer, 53.
Marijuana is much better for her husband than the side effects of the powerful pain pills he once took, she said.
"The only side effect (from marijuana) is him getting the munchies," she said, referring to the drug's tendency to make users hungry.
Some held signs that demanded the drug's full legalization.
"This is the next generation of activists," said speaker Anthony Freed, 32, of Clark Lake -- patting the back of U-M senior Chris Chiles, 21, a chemistry major from Farmington who founded the university's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. ...
Saturday’s 39th annual Hash Bash, the yearly gathering where people openly smoke marijuana on the University of Michigan’s Diag plaza, could draw the event’s biggest turnout ever, organizer Adam Brook said.
The record was about 10,000 pot smokers, who jammed “almost shoulder to shoulder” on a fine spring day a decade or so ago, but perhaps 12,000 or more will squeeze in on Saturday, from noon to1 p.m., thanks to the good weather that’s expected combined with widespread enthusiasm for Michigan’s 15-month-old medical-marijuana law, Brook, 42, of Royal Oak said today.
Public smoking or other use of marijuana remains illegal, even for state-approved medical patients, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. Still, enforcement has been minimal, if not non-existent, at previous Hash Bashes, Brook said. ...
The record was about 10,000 pot smokers, who jammed “almost shoulder to shoulder” on a fine spring day a decade or so ago, but perhaps 12,000 or more will squeeze in on Saturday, from noon to1 p.m., thanks to the good weather that’s expected combined with widespread enthusiasm for Michigan’s 15-month-old medical-marijuana law, Brook, 42, of Royal Oak said today.
Public smoking or other use of marijuana remains illegal, even for state-approved medical patients, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. Still, enforcement has been minimal, if not non-existent, at previous Hash Bashes, Brook said. ...
Patients and caregivers who enroll in our full semester receive over 8 hours of dedicated hands on lab time with a medical cannabis horticulture expert.
In addition to over 30 hours of class time, students receive over 1000+ pages of written literature, how to's, graphs and guides to aid them in their future endeavors.
Students have the opportunity to have their questions answered one on one by our team of legal, medical, horticultural, business, and marketing experts.
Look for us at the 2009 Michigan Medical Marijuana Expo!
In addition to over 30 hours of class time, students receive over 1000+ pages of written literature, how to's, graphs and guides to aid them in their future endeavors.
Students have the opportunity to have their questions answered one on one by our team of legal, medical, horticultural, business, and marketing experts.
Look for us at the 2009 Michigan Medical Marijuana Expo!
Stonerware playing cards are the fun new way to play your favorite card games. These attractive regulation cards feature wild hemp leaf backs and entertaining graphics. See the royal family smoke it up with different blazing methods that are sure to make your red eyes do a double take. When playing with these cards just remember one thing. The "high" card always wins!
Perfect when partnered with this deck!
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Justice Department has provided federal prosecutors "clarification and guidance" urging them to go after drug traffickers but not patients and caregivers in the 14 states that have medical marijuana laws.
A memo sent to U.S. attorneys said that in carrying out Justice pronouncements made earlier this year indicating a policy shift to end prosecutions against users, authorities should continue to pursue drug traffickers.
"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "But we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal," Holder added. ...
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
And I will advertise it
A memo sent to U.S. attorneys said that in carrying out Justice pronouncements made earlier this year indicating a policy shift to end prosecutions against users, authorities should continue to pursue drug traffickers.
"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "But we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal," Holder added. ...
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
And I will advertise it
5 Things the Corporate Media Don't Want You to Know About Cannabis | Media and Technology | AlterNet
Writing in the journal Science nearly four decades ago, New York State University sociologist Erich Goode documented the media's complicity in maintaining cannabis prohibition.
He observed: "[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed."
A glimpse of today's mainstream media landscape indicates that little has changed -- with news outlets continuing to, at best, underreport the publication of scientific studies that undermine the federal government's longstanding pot propaganda and, at worst, ignore them all together.
Here are five recent stories the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about pot:
1. Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With a Rise in Incidences of Schizophrenia ...
He observed: "[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed."
A glimpse of today's mainstream media landscape indicates that little has changed -- with news outlets continuing to, at best, underreport the publication of scientific studies that undermine the federal government's longstanding pot propaganda and, at worst, ignore them all together.
Here are five recent stories the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about pot:
1. Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With a Rise in Incidences of Schizophrenia ...
Sponsors:
COHEN, MUNDY, SABATINA, VITALI, McGEEHAN, M. O'BRIEN, GERGELY, JOHNSON, BRIGGS and CURRY
Printer's No.: 1714*
Short Title: An Act providing for the medical use of marijuana; and repealing provisions of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use.
Actions:
Referred to HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, April 30, 2009
* denotes Current Printer's Number ...
COHEN, MUNDY, SABATINA, VITALI, McGEEHAN, M. O'BRIEN, GERGELY, JOHNSON, BRIGGS and CURRY
Printer's No.: 1714*
Short Title: An Act providing for the medical use of marijuana; and repealing provisions of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use.
Actions:
Referred to HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, April 30, 2009
* denotes Current Printer's Number ...
Goddam assholes. There's no goddam need to tinker with the plant's genetic makeup! Hemp naturally has only a negligible am't of THC anyway, you morons!
Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs
In a backlash against the US 'war on drugs', Latin America turns to a more liberal policy
Rory Carroll in Caracas, Jo Tuckman in Mexico and Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Monday 31 August 2009
Argentina and Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored "war on drugs".
Argentina's supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, an eagerly awaited judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.
It followed Mexico's decision to stop prosecuting people for possession of relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Instead, they will be referred to clinics and treated as patients, not criminals.
Brazil and Ecuador are also considering partial decriminalisation as part of a regional swing away from a decades-old policy of crackdowns still favoured by Washington.
"The tide is clearly turning. The 'war on drugs' strategy has failed," Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former Brazilian president, told the Guardian. Earlier this year, he and two former presidents of Colombia and Mexico published a landmark report calling for a new departure.
"The report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy has certainly helped to open up the debate about more humane and efficient policies. But, most of all, the facts are speaking by themselves," said Cardoso. ...
In a backlash against the US 'war on drugs', Latin America turns to a more liberal policy
Rory Carroll in Caracas, Jo Tuckman in Mexico and Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Monday 31 August 2009
Argentina and Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored "war on drugs".
Argentina's supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, an eagerly awaited judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.
It followed Mexico's decision to stop prosecuting people for possession of relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Instead, they will be referred to clinics and treated as patients, not criminals.
Brazil and Ecuador are also considering partial decriminalisation as part of a regional swing away from a decades-old policy of crackdowns still favoured by Washington.
"The tide is clearly turning. The 'war on drugs' strategy has failed," Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former Brazilian president, told the Guardian. Earlier this year, he and two former presidents of Colombia and Mexico published a landmark report calling for a new departure.
"The report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy has certainly helped to open up the debate about more humane and efficient policies. But, most of all, the facts are speaking by themselves," said Cardoso. ...
Impact of cannabis on bones changes with age, study finds
August 13th, 2009
Scientists investigating the effects of cannabis on bone health have found that its impact varies dramatically with age.
The study has found that although cannabis could reduce bone strength in young people, it may protect against osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones, in later life.
The team at the University of Edinburgh has shown that a molecule found naturally in the body, which can be activated by cannabis - called the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) - is key to the development of osteoporosis.
It is known that when CB1 comes into contact with cannabis it has an impact on bone regeneration, but until now it was not clear whether the drug had a positive or negative effect. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
August 13th, 2009
Scientists investigating the effects of cannabis on bone health have found that its impact varies dramatically with age.
The study has found that although cannabis could reduce bone strength in young people, it may protect against osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones, in later life.
The team at the University of Edinburgh has shown that a molecule found naturally in the body, which can be activated by cannabis - called the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) - is key to the development of osteoporosis.
It is known that when CB1 comes into contact with cannabis it has an impact on bone regeneration, but until now it was not clear whether the drug had a positive or negative effect. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
Did Shakespeare Puff on "Noted Weed"?
Shaun Smillie
for National Geographic News
(March 1, 2001)
A study of several 17th-century smoking pipes, including a number found in the garden of Shakespeare's home in England, has revealed traces of cannabis, according to South African scientists. ...
I don't believe it. cough cough cough No one truly creative (pfffft) or productive in history used drugs. cough
Ta much, dear DontheFox
Shaun Smillie
for National Geographic News
(March 1, 2001)
A study of several 17th-century smoking pipes, including a number found in the garden of Shakespeare's home in England, has revealed traces of cannabis, according to South African scientists. ...
I don't believe it. cough cough cough No one truly creative (pfffft) or productive in history used drugs. cough
Ta much, dear DontheFox
Stone me: it's an iPhone app to find marijuana
New location-based software allows users to find legal medical suppliers in the US
Matthew Taylor
Monday 20 July 2009
Everyone knows that the modern mobile phone is set up to do so much more than make a simple call. From checking emails to locating friends, there seems little the latest generation of handsets can't do.
However – even in this tech-savvy age – the latest offering in iPhone apps has caused a stir.
For just $2.99 Apple is offering customers a service that allows them to find local marijuana suppliers. The news has created a buzz online, as the world's stoners contemplate carrying out online price comparisons between dealers in their local areas.
But before bongs are fired up in celebration it should be noted the new service actually aims to help people locate legal medical suppliers in the US, rather than the best place to get hold of a quarter of Moroccan black in the neighbourhood. ...
...it isn't the most bizarre, hypocritical, counterproductive moment in our nation's history with drugs. Not by a long shot. Consider that Prohibition came about when progressives got into bed with the Ku Klux Klan, but was rolled back once they'd had enough of the Mob. Or that the precursor to today's drug czar supplied morphine to Sen. Joe McCarthy because he worried about the national security consequences—not of the red-baiter's habit, but of its potential exposure. Or that drug war progenitor Richard Nixon ordered a comprehensive study on the perils of marijuana, and then ignored the study once he learned it recommended decriminalization. ...
An utterly hysterical oldie but goodie.
... "I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and our prisons are over-crowded. We don't need to spend our scarce resources prosecuting people who are doing no harm to others." ...
Amen!
Amen!
Looks like it's time to
Legalize it
Yeah yeah
And I will advertise it...
Legalize it
Yeah yeah
And I will advertise it...
"It's not a drug, it's a leaf!"
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
I love you, Ed!
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
Like the lousy old joke, I just really enjoy hearing it over and over again.
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
White House: DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States Will Stop
by The Field
Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 11:58:59 AM PST
Like the lousy old joke, I just really enjoy hearing it over and over again.
Yup. Yet another give-me-a-break moment.
Give me a fucking break.
... In jury nullification, a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her. There is intense pressure within the legal system to keep this power under wraps. But the fact of the matter is that when laws are deemed unjust, there is the right of the jury not to convict.
Jury nullification is crucially important because until our national politicians show some backbone on the issue of marijuana law reform, it's one of the only ways to avoid imposing hideously cruel "mandatory minimum" penalties on marijuana users who don't deserve to go to prison.
Prosecuting and jailing people for marijuana wastes valuable resources, including court and police time and tax dollars. Hundreds of thousands of otherwise productive, law-abiding people have been deprived of their freedom, their families, their homes and their jobs. Let's save the jails for real criminals, not pot smokers.
The American public is very near the tipping point where a majority no longer believes the official line coming from Drug Warrior politicians and their friends at the ONDCP, gung-ho narcotics officers protecting their profitable turf, and sensationalistic, scare-mongering news stories used to boost ratings. They are starting to see through the widening cracks in the wall of denial when it comes to marijuana's salutary medical effects on a host of illnesses and its palliative effects for the terminally ill and permanently disabled. ...
Jury nullification is crucially important because until our national politicians show some backbone on the issue of marijuana law reform, it's one of the only ways to avoid imposing hideously cruel "mandatory minimum" penalties on marijuana users who don't deserve to go to prison.
Prosecuting and jailing people for marijuana wastes valuable resources, including court and police time and tax dollars. Hundreds of thousands of otherwise productive, law-abiding people have been deprived of their freedom, their families, their homes and their jobs. Let's save the jails for real criminals, not pot smokers.
The American public is very near the tipping point where a majority no longer believes the official line coming from Drug Warrior politicians and their friends at the ONDCP, gung-ho narcotics officers protecting their profitable turf, and sensationalistic, scare-mongering news stories used to boost ratings. They are starting to see through the widening cracks in the wall of denial when it comes to marijuana's salutary medical effects on a host of illnesses and its palliative effects for the terminally ill and permanently disabled. ...
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
And don't criticize it
And don't criticize it
WTF is wrong with you idiots???!!!
The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer. The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.
"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."
No kidding? [Claude Rains in Casablanca]I am shocked! Shocked![/Claude Rains in Casablanca]
"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."
No kidding? [Claude Rains in Casablanca]I am shocked! Shocked![/Claude Rains in Casablanca]
... The overwhelming popularity of the marijuana reform issue — as manifested on Change.gov, Change.org (which is conducting its own online poll of the top issues facing America; the legalization of marijuana tops the list), and even here on the Hill (where my most recent blog posts have each garnered several hundreds of readers’ comments, almost all of them supportive) — illustrate two important points.
One: there is a significant, vocal, and identifiable segment of our society that wants to see an end to America¹s archaic and overly punitive marijuana laws. Two: the American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults.
Rather than rebuff the public’s calls for drug policy reform, the new administration ought to be embracing it. After all, many of the same voters that put Obama in the White House also voted by wide margins in November to liberalize marijuana laws in two states — Michigan and Massachusetts — and in nearly a dozen municipalities.
In short, marijuana law reform should no longer be viewed by legislators a political liability. For the incoming administration and for Congress, it is a political opportunity. The public is ready for change; in fact, they are demanding it. Are their representatives listening?
One: there is a significant, vocal, and identifiable segment of our society that wants to see an end to America¹s archaic and overly punitive marijuana laws. Two: the American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults.
Rather than rebuff the public’s calls for drug policy reform, the new administration ought to be embracing it. After all, many of the same voters that put Obama in the White House also voted by wide margins in November to liberalize marijuana laws in two states — Michigan and Massachusetts — and in nearly a dozen municipalities.
In short, marijuana law reform should no longer be viewed by legislators a political liability. For the incoming administration and for Congress, it is a political opportunity. The public is ready for change; in fact, they are demanding it. Are their representatives listening?
That's rather civilised, though not as civilised as their neighbo/urs.
Prohibiting the growing and use of an eminently useful plant - and its equally useful and non-buzz-inducing relatives - which can grow almost anywhere is beyond illogical. It's cruel, ignorant, and stupid.
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
And I will advertise it
Dem Scondineyvyan Rastas smoakin' Jamaican style, Mon. Dem h'each got one, didn't it.
It's illegal because the liquor lobby, chemical companies, oil companies, etc want it that way. There is no logic in imposing prohibition on a useful plant - and its useful relatives.