cannabisnews.com: There's No Hope with Dope

There's No Hope with Dope
Posted by FoM on October 18, 2001 at 11:58:24 PT
By Tara Debenham, Oregon Daily Emerald Columnist
Source: Oregon Daily Emerald
Reality is harsh and often cold. We examine its rough texture a little closer in college, peering into the empty hallways. And sometimes it's arduous and pulls at your mind with tiny claws. You begin to understand how a fish feels out of water, with its head chopped off. Vulnerable and entrapped, the psyche is calling from within, saying, "Let me escape." But how can we? How can we escape? Is there really a way to forget about life's endless problems?
Some people may tell you that they've found the way. They have found what finally makes them feel good. Unfortunately, what many turn to is drugs, and if you're in Eugene, it's probably marijuana. I'm sure you've smelled sweet "Mary Jane" or seen "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" at some point in time, and if not, it's likely that you will. Some day in the future someone may invite you to inhale that famous green weed. They'll say something like, "Hey, it's only a plant man. You know, Indians smoked this stuff in peace circles. Just relax." Yes, I've heard everything in the book, from the idea of becoming more spiritual to the enhancement of the senses. And admittedly, it does sound appealing. It's quite a temptation -- finally you can block out everything that is crowding your mind and be, in Pink Floyd's words, "Comfortably Numb." But if the experience turns out to be good, then you'll probably want to feel that way again, and then what is to prevent you from doing it again? And if you're always high, where are you really? Who are you? When there's so little you can control in life, at least you can usually control yourself. Nobody wants to be told what to do, but when you're on drugs, the drugs are telling your brain what to do or what not to do. The drugs are telling you how you feel, making you laugh, making you see things. It's not yourself. It's not real. If it was real, you wouldn't need a substance to get the feelings again. My personal experience with people who use marijuana heavily has been this: They seem to have little motivation or desire to do much of anything. The drug is everything. As a result, their education begins to suffer, and they're usually out of shape. It also gives people the "munchies," which I've been told makes you usually crave unhealthy or greasy food. So, it's quite likely you'll gain weight. Also, I've heard the drug hinders short term memory and makes coordination difficult, increasing car accidents. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says, "Someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day." With the recent terrorist attacks on our country, this should be a time of support and patriotism. Marijuana and drug trafficking are tied to organizations such as the Taliban, so drug-users are indirectly supporting these organizations. Besides all this -- as if it weren't enough -- we're poor college students, and drugs are expensive! Instead of spending 50 bucks to get high and just sit around and stare at things, go to a concert or on a road trip. Try something new. There's so much more to experience in the world that doesn't involve the risks you will encounter when you take marijuana or any other kind of drug. Personally, I've got better things to do than "Puff the Magic Dragon." Tara Debenham is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. Her opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.Source: Oregon Daily Emerald (OR)Author: Tara DebenhamPublished: October 15, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Oregon Daily EmeraldContact: ode oregon.uoregon.eduWebsite: http://www.dailyemerald.com/CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help

Comment #45 posted by FoM on October 20, 2001 at 10:18:31 PT
Richard
Thank you so much for all you have done for Cannabis News. We will send what we can right now. These are hard times for drug policy reform because of the events since September 11th. If it wasn't for the good people here that kept encouraging me I don't know if I could have kept going.We must hang on just a little longer and then our issues will return. Walters hasn't been confirmed yet unless they did it without telling us. Amsterdam is considering medical marijuana. We haven't lost we have just had a major bump in the road. Thanks for all you do!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #44 posted by Richard Lake on October 20, 2001 at 09:57:54 PT:
DrugSense/MAP Seeks Your Help
Dear FriendsThe 43 previous comments is a good example of how unique Cannabisnews is! Does anyone doubt that this is by far the most popular website out there focusing only on the news of our community that allows comments???Below is an appeal from MAP/DrugSense. Please help! Cannabisnews is by far the most popular website MAP/DrugSense hosts and supports. Please help us to keep Cannabisnews and all the websites we host (see http://www.drugsense.org/sitemap.htm#hosted ) going!Thank You!Richard~~~~~~~~~~~~Please Forward this Important Note to Your FriendsDear Fellow Reformer:As an aftermath to the tragedies of September 11th, issues involving drug policy and how prohibition helps fund terrorism have become front and center in the nation's conscious. Close to a quarter of a million people visited the MAP / Drug Sense news and opinion sections in October! We are very gratified to be fulfilling our mission to provide accurate news and facts, especially in this time of crisis.Unfortunately, our staff of a half dozen part time workers and myself need to eat and live and we are not making even a modest living from our efforts. I earn less than ten dollars an hour and the others are around the minimum wage level. This is not sustainable over the long run.Many of you out there could contribute with little if any inconvenience. Some might only afford ten dollars. Most could come up with fifty or a hundred. And there are some of you who could become thousand dollar donors and help underwrite and expand our efforts. (You wouldn't believe how rare a thousand dollar donor is around here!)With one exception, foundations won't touch us with a ten foot pole because we are deemed controversial. So we are totally dependent upon web visitors support to increase funding. We continuous ask ourselves, why are we unable to generate more dollars from such a large and dedicated group?Together we have built DrugSense and MAP into one of the world's largest drug policy reform web site.See http://www.drugsense.org/webpop/We have generated 7,300 published letters to editors over the course of the past few years.See http://www.mapinc.org/lte/We are proud of our other current services, among them: The Drug News archive of more than 68,000 news clippings, support for scores of other reform organizations and a weekly newsletter informing thousands of readers of current developments in drug policy.See: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/We also have plans to expand our services in the near future, provided we can keep our heads above water.We cannot sell subscriptions or advertising, so we must rely upon you, our beneficiaries, to send us what you feel this service is worth to you and what will fit into your budget.Contributing is easy. You can charge your contribution at:http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htmIf you prefer to donate via check, please mail your checks payable to DrugSense or MAP Inc. PO Box 651, Porterville, CA 93258.Please assist us now and on a regular basis. We have the vehicle to bring about reform. Your contribution will help provide the fuel.Thank you for joining us in the battle to bring about sound drug policies and justice.Mark Greer, Executive Director, DrugSense, MGreer mapinc.org
DrugSense/MAP Seeks Your Help
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #43 posted by krutch on October 19, 2001 at 13:45:28 PT:
News Flash for the Author
First of all the taliban has absolutely nothing to do with pot. Afganistan is an opium producer not a marijuana producer.also her comment:"My personal experience with people who use marijuana heavily has been this: They seem to have little motivation or desire to do much of anything. The drug is everything. As a result, their education begins to suffer, and they're usually out of shape. It also gives people the "munchies," which I've been told makes you usually crave unhealthy or greasy food. So, it's quite likely you'll gain weight."I have a Undergrad degree in Biochemistry. I maintained a 3.75 GPA. I am an avid hiker and camper. I have hiked many a 14,000 ft mountain in the Rockies. I smoke "Maryjane", as the author so quaintly calls it, regularly. Many of my friends are also smart, motivated and fit and also smoke pot regularly. So the author's personal experience has far more to do with the character of the people she knows than the effects of the drug.The author states at the end that:"Personally, I've got better things to do than "Puff the Magic Dragon."Clearly, her list of better things to do does not include researching the subject she is writing about. This piece is an IGNORANT compilation of myths, speculations, and delusions.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #42 posted by Homes on October 19, 2001 at 09:51:36 PT:
"Reality and Truth"
Reality is just a concept that; truth will always replace. If this dribble is Tara's reality, I'm sorry to inform her, that much like the current shrub run republowcratic government, not a grain of truth can be found within. Tara; get real, get a life and jump upon Savoy Brown's "Hellbound Train" and ride on out of here.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #41 posted by observer on October 19, 2001 at 09:23:37 PT
theme#1: Drug is Associated With a Foreign Enemy
With the recent terrorist attacks on our country, this should be a time of support and patriotism. Marijuana and drug trafficking are tied to organizations such as the Taliban, so drug-users are indirectly supporting these organizations.Classic. Note the conflation from "Marijuana" to "Marijuana and drug trafficking" which the propagandist claims are "tied" to terrorists. As many have pointed out, half of the cannabis consumed in the US is grown here, the rest nearby; the "Taliban" does not product or sell marijuana. [1.] The Drug is Associated With a Hated Subgroup of the Society or a Foreign Enemy
http://drugwarpropaganda.selfhost.com/t.cgi?1 ``Drug warriors link drug users with those who are already hated, hoping that negative attributes established in people's minds concerning the hated subgroup may be transferred to the prohibited drugs, and their users. This is the propaganda technique of name calling and the technique of transfer in action.''
[Drug War Propaganda, ch. 1, 2001, observer, (not yet published)]see:
http://drugwarpropaganda.selfhost.com/
http://www.mapinc.org/propaganda/ (high bandwidth mirror)NIDA: Themes in Chemical Prohibition, William L. White, 1979 http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ticp.html
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #40 posted by Doug on October 19, 2001 at 09:21:15 PT
It Took Guts To Write This Column...
in Eugene, Oregon. Every year in September they have "Eugene Celebration" with a big parade. A few years ago one of the final floats in the parade held a giant joint (replica, I hasten to add). There were many cheers from the crowd. This was on a public street! Eugene definitely has a reputation; Ken Kesey lives just outside of town, and there are a few other Merry Pranksters who live there also. His sister runs a local Yogurt making company. The Grateful Dead used to play every summer at the Universtiy (whose publication this article appeared in) stadium, and would merit front page articles in the local newspaper. I'm guessing after this article the author will be the laughing stock of Eugene.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #39 posted by dddd on October 19, 2001 at 06:15:56 PT
aye-aye Kaptin,,,,ain' no myth indeed.....
....And I was thinking about the disapointing results that most of us have experienced ,,in attempting to send letters to our "represenatives",,and getting no response,,or the insult of some form letter that a "staffer" ,filled in......I bet you'd get a more personal response from some wierd corporate giant,,,,like if you wrote to the Gatorade company,,or Campbells soup,,,,you'd probably get a personal response from a PR person, and a bunch of coupons for free chicken noodle or something...It's because big companys still care about there public image.They dont want you to be an unhappy customer,,,,,but ,,when you take the time to write your "represenative",,about a matter concerning drug law reforms,,,you are not even seen as a paying customer,(unless ya got a $50 grand or so,to get their attention)..You are ripe for abuse,,,,letters from people about drug law reform,are probably chuckled about at happy hour,by the "members"......
You can complain about drugs all you want now,but people like us,really dont matter anymore.....Can anyone seriously imagine any major legistlation that will be in favor of drug law reform??/....NO WAY... They,,,the powers that be,,,,are in a far different place in relation to power,and public scritiny,than before the 911 event....
They have pulled off another whopper on us Sheep......Drug laws dont mean anything to them now...no one's gonna try to mess with them old wimpy drug laws,.... ..For the last 5 months,,they have been involved in an obscene festival of passing absurd laws....They got laws now,that make drug laws obsolete!!!,,, all they gotta do is suggest that you have some link to terrorism,,an anonymous phone call,,,,they can have a warrant within minutes,(they may not even need one),,,and your door is coming down in an exciting swat-natzi terror home invasion,,,,,,even if they found nothing illegal,,,if they dont like your attitude,or their orders came from some new creepy federal homeland SS gestapo.....Achtung!!!....Snell!.......
. anyway,,,my point was gonna be to suggest that perhaps letters to publications,,are a better use of time, than imagining a politician will actually even be aware of your letter.....I mean ,think about your average bogart-bilkster pompous hog, phony politician,,,,,,,in my wildest dreams,I cant imagine someone like, lets say Diane Fienstien,,,at her desk,,,reading her mail,,,,she chuckles to herself,,and then cackles,,"..those druggies actually think they have a snowballs chance in hell!" .....
..
...I hate to say it,,but let's face it,,,reform of any laws,especially drug laws,,are on the very back burner,if they're even on the stove!......This insane new terror-witch hunt takeover of our country,,is a beast that will not be stopped... we aint seen nothin' yet...the puppet fake idiot pResident,has got the ball rolling,,,information control in the states is secure.....This babys goin global...they're already taking about who they're gonna invade next....they're gonna keep the public disturbed,and distracted through the media saturation of carefully planned diversions such as the anthrax thing...The idea is to maintain climate of fear amongst the masses..This will allow them to do ANYTHING,they havnt already done to our America. It really makes me gag,,to hear the shrub,and his cronies talk about freedom ...The "war on terror",makes the war on drugs look wimpy,and insignificant.. .......This is really startin' to look like a Hellbound Train.......
..
. Hellbound Train I'm on it's track
Too late now to turn my back
Conductor coming ticket in his hand
Come to claim my soul
Take me to his land Hellbound Train I been so wrong
Too late now I'm moving on
Conductor standing watch in his hand
Got to get aboard take you to his land I'm going down the road on the Hellbound Train
Take a long look lady 'cause you won't see me again
Take a last look lady, yes hard and long
'Cause I'm going down the road on the Hellbound Train ........I'm anticipating formatting abnormalities.......name that band,and I'll send you a picture of my dog...dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #38 posted by Lehder on October 19, 2001 at 06:10:16 PT
"submitted for review by moderator"
so the message said. i sent comments first to the author directly, now to the website to be posted among the others, "after review."
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #37 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on October 19, 2001 at 04:55:14 PT
The terrorists were selling smoke, all right...
... just not the green leafy kind!http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-954.html The terrorists seem willing to sell anything they can which would bring quick profits on the black market. The above scheme also gives them the added satisfaction of helping many Americans get their daily dose of carcinogens...
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #36 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on October 19, 2001 at 04:38:42 PT
S I E G E !!
Hey! I read up this morning on the daily emarald site.They are under siege...and I say "get 'em".Numerous comments from Cannabisnews.com posters are there. They represent an explosion of replies. There were 3 replies before being on cannabisnews. Today theres 10 or more. Mine was greatly censored and C. Thoma's - which was short - was still edited: they deleted his reference and weblink to cannabisnews.com.I have added 2 more replies to their site this morning complaining about CENSORSHIP vs editing for space.Prohibition Sucks.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #35 posted by kaptinemo on October 19, 2001 at 04:10:13 PT:
They edit out the sharp edges
I have posted there, too, and noticed that my comment about her linking the Tali's to cannabis users was incorrect. And that if anyone deserves her opprobrium, it's the Drug Warriors themselves who lobbied for the women murdering Tali's to receive 43 million of our tax dollars to commit their butcheries. All in the name of creating a model, drug free society. Every person who supports the War on Drugs had a hand in those mass-murders in the soccer stadiums that were constructed with our taxpayer�s dollars�meaning her, too.I guess that that was just a bit too much for them; hit way too close to home for comfort.Yep, the corporate censorship that 4D is always telling us about ain�t no myth, children.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #34 posted by freedom fighter on October 19, 2001 at 02:50:59 PT
thanks Ej for the link
The reality of the contemporary world is complex. It is a fantastic mix of tragedy, irreparable misfortune, apathy, prejudices, and ignorance, plus dynamism, selfessness, hope, and intelligence. The future may be even more tragic. Or it may be more worthy of human beings- better and more intelligent. Or it may not be at all. It depends on all of us- people in every country in the world. It depends on our wisdom, our freedom from illusion and prejudice, our readiness to work, to practice intelligent austerity, and on our kindness and breadth as human beings.
Andrei Sakharov, My Country and the World, 1975This is my motto for it broke my heart that one had to write like this to inform this to the world. It is all up to you and me. I cried until there is no more tears left. With Sun on my face and mountains as my spine, I can only ask for tolerance among all of us. I can only pray and breathe in hope that it is not about me or you but us. Love is not just a four letter word, you can be my friend but I can still love you. You can be my enemy but I can still love you. It is all so simple like the sun rise in east and set in the west. This is my motto for it broke my heart that one had to write like this to inform this to the world. It is all up to me and you and us.ff
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #33 posted by E_Johnson on October 19, 2001 at 02:17:02 PT
This is my favorite sentence
Many of them have recognized the harm done by them to the interests of society, others are holding on to a wait-and-see position.This just makes me crack up.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #32 posted by freedom fighter on October 19, 2001 at 02:16:07 PT
p4me, It is all about $$$$
Just got that today, did not read them all.. There are 19 chapters about NORML and Keith Stroup... http://www.psychedelic-library.org/highinamerica.htmI am on to seventh chapters of that book. I get the impression that it take right person sitting in Warshington D.C. to change the way it is now. And to make the biggest impact, it takes $$$$$$$$ and common cooperation among all of us. NORML did stopped this paraquat thing and it took effort to do so. The truth is pretty simple. If every damn smoker would just give up a bag this week and give the money to cause, we can change.ff
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #31 posted by Lehder on October 19, 2001 at 01:36:54 PT
reply
comment #6 and embellishments emailed to authorEvery article by the Prohibitionists should be greeted with a similar storm of well written and fact filled responses. -- null #15
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #30 posted by Patrick on October 19, 2001 at 01:33:35 PT
O Contraire�
The following comments up to now pretty much some up my opinion of this article:Comment #3 posted by TroutMask: "I've heard..." "Strange, I didn't know I was supposed to sit around and stare at things."
Comment #9 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on: "Was there a Stupidity Contest? " "This is repulsively stupid. God I hope she receives feedback!"
Comment #13 posted by aocp points out the Ridiculous... "Boy, when you lay it out like that, i can see why we'd want to be looking for these people instead of terrorists."
Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson I learned that "Someone should write a book on the art of the Communist denunciation." Hi FoM How r u? I'm me too! Sorry, I haven't written in awhile. Been on a whirlwind tour of Escapism and finally got a chance to slow down read your site again. Keep it coming.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #29 posted by p4me on October 19, 2001 at 01:26:04 PT:
we let this trash rule our laws?
I agree with the guy who said my dog can write better than that. Total garbage. On Politically Incorrect for Thursday, Oct. 18th they had a writer for http://www.worldnetdaily.com that said that the media was supposed to bring what the government is doing to light and analyze it. I am all but dumbfounded that the Columbian situation is very seldom in any mass media that I see. Never have I read a lengthy arguement on MJ reform. And then again, stuff like this gets printed. The politicians have failed us, the legal system has failed us (Can anyone point to an article that explains why MJ is a Schedule 1 controlled substance with an evaluation in relation to the criteria needed for a Schedule 1 narcotic under law), and the media has failed us. And I am not so sure NORML has failed us although it is not an instution. I wonder if NORML wants to stay around forever. Can they not hold rallies at the courthouse when there is a MJ posession trial? Have they ever done it once?All I can say is we are going to have to vote and change this situation.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #28 posted by freedom fighter on October 19, 2001 at 01:11:02 PT
The response..
I shall defend your right to write to death with an understanding that I have the same right. Prohibition does not only do harm but is a form of genocide. You and your publisher are war criminals who promoted genocide. Prohibition does not just cause harm, it caused untold number of death.
While you are on the Lucy in the Sky with the Diamond, so Comfortably numbed, thinking you did not puff the magic dragon, promoted untold numbers of death. I wondered how many more human beings before you realized that is enough?
For your reference of genocide, go to http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread11118.shtml or http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47659,00.html PS)I know that publisher can claim it was not necessarily their viewpoint. But, by publishing dangerous viewpoint of others can be very dangerous.ff
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #27 posted by dddd on October 19, 2001 at 00:49:26 PT
Thank You EJ
..I thoroughly enjoyed reading that stuff!...got any more?....Astounding!!!.......dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #26 posted by E_Johnson on October 19, 2001 at 00:08:43 PT
Part 2
In 1986 21 persons were freed from serving further time by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and by the Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of Union republics
according to applications by the organs of the KGB, Procurator and the courts. Four convicts had their sentences changed from deprivation of freedom to internal exile. An
overwhelming majority of them have correctly perceived the decisions made in relation to them, with the exception of Ratushinskaya, who, upon leaving for the West on personal
business, continues to speak out with hostile appeals.At the present time 301 persons are serving sentences for crimes committed under the above-mentioned articles, and 23 persons are under investigation.Data that we have attests to the fact that the modifications in our society that occurred after the April 1985 Plenum of the CC CPSU and the 27th Party Congress have influenced the
way of thinking and the behavior of a portion of those who in their own time wound up under the influence of bourgeois propaganda and elements with hostile emotions, who committed
anti-legal actions and received sentences. Many of them have recognized the harm done by them to the interests of society, others are holding on to a wait-and-see position. A series of individuals have not altered their anti-Soviet views.In today's conditions of democratization of all sides of social life, and of the strongest unanimity of the Party and the people, it appears that it is possible to examine the question of freedom in an order of amnesty from the places of confinement and internal exile of a designated portion of the convicts, and also from criminal responsibility and being under investigation, for individuals who have committed the crimes mentioned above.It would be possible to suggest to individuals from the indicated categories that they turn to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with appeals regarding their intent henceforth to commit no further hostile or otherwise anti-legal activity. Upon receipt of the applications, such individuals should be freed simultaneously from from serving sentences or criminal charges according to a presentation of the Procurator, the Supreme Court of the USSR, the Ministry of Justice of the USSR, the MVD of the USSR and the KGB of the USSR in an order of amnesty by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. If separate convicted persons and persons under investigation are charged with criminal
responsibility for yet other crimes at that time, the question of their freedom from sentences in
the full extent should be decided with an accounting of the concrete situations. Especially dangerous recidivists should not be freed from sentences, and neither should individuals who continue to stay in obviously hostile positions, who refuse to give written certification about the halting of antisocial activity.Such measures would allow those who refrain from continuing antilegal activity to occupy their places in society, and, from the other side, should expose those who earlier, under
slogans of the struggle for "democratization" and "human rights", only covered up the anti-Soviet essence of their directions.The acceptance of the suggested decision on the given question will give a political advantage that yet again stresses the humanism of Soviet power. We are able to meet with recidivists in antisocial activity under existing indicated measures, however this, in our opinion, should not
lead towards serious negative consequences.The indicated measures, unconditionally, will evoke a complicated reaction. Regarding the fact that the active anti-Soviet actions of those serving criminal sentences is known to many, some portion or other of Soviet citizens
might not take kindly to the act of amnesty. The enemy and hostile elements, undoubtedly, will attempt to interpret the humanitarian step as the result of "pressure and protest" of certain circles in the West. It is not excluded that they will strive to represent the matter in such a
way that "the organs of administration of justice in their own time illegally charged these individuals with criminal responsibility, and now they are correcting their mistakes."In connection with this, appears to be expedient to commission the editorial colleagues of the newspaper "Izvestia" to prepare and publish corresponding articles.The project of the resolution of the CC CPSU is enclosed.We request that it be examined. Pp. V. Chebrikov
Pp. A. Rekunov
Pp. V. Terebilov
Pp. V. Kravtsov
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #25 posted by E_Johnson on October 19, 2001 at 00:07:57 PT
How they freed the political prisoners
Here is one of the real docs I retrieved, out of personal and historical interest. This was the resolution presented at the Central Committeee meeting where it was decided to free the remaining political prisoners in the USSR.Here is the guy who was dying in prison as this was being typed:
http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/sakharov/Exhibit/marchenko.htmlIt says on this page that he died in prison after a long hunger strike, but I was told by someone else that the specific cause of death was an infection caused by being kicked in the kidneys by Interior Ministry steel-toed boots, after he had been weakened by a long hunger strike.***********************Top Secret
26.12.86
CC CPSU
About the freeing from serving sentences
and from criminal responsibility
of separate categories of individualsIn recent years the hostile activities of a series of individuals, who were committing crimes stipulated under articles 70 (anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda), 190.1 (knowingly distributing lying inventions that discredit the Soviet state and social system) of the Criminal Codex of the RSFSR and corresponding articles of criminal codices of other Union republics, have been halted.Their indictments on criminal charges, together with the operation of widespread preventative-prophylactic measures, has caused the interruption of plans of special services
of imperialistic states for the creation in the USSR of an anti-Soviet underground. The organized subversive activity of a large number of employees of special services and enemy
agents and emissaries, who were instigating antisocial elements towards the commission of especially dangerous state crimes and crimes against administrative order, were halted. We simultaneouly succeeded in paralyzing the anti-legal activity of organizers, inspirators, and
participants of the illegal groups: the "Helsinki Group", the "Free Intercouncil Union of Workers", the Russian section of "Amnesty International", the "Fund of the Aid of Political Prisoners" and others, which the enemy considered as "forces capable of bringing change to the existing state and social system in the USSR."The founders of these groups were liberally financed by the special services and subversive centers of the USA, France, England and other imperialist states for rendering aid to the operation of hostile activity against the USSR. Just to the so-called "Fund for the Aid of Political Prisoners" alone there was nearly 800,000 rubles transferred illegaly, and also through the use of diplomatic, channels.For the purpose of exposing the subversive activity of the special services of imperialism and those hostile elements among the Soviet citizenry who are connected with them, an enormous job was carried out using means of mass information. In the last ten years 150 films and television television programs (mainly short documentaries and chronicles) were created with the participation of, and according to materials from, the organs of state security; in four years 262 books and brochures were published, and 178 journal and 250 newspaper articles were printed. Propaganda lectures are conducted regularly on these questions by employees of organs of the KGB, the Procurator, the courts and the justice department. Along with the
attraction of public opinion, educational work is being carried out systematically with convicts in the places of their confinement, which is giving affirmative results. Indivudals among them (Berdnik, Dudko, Zalepa, Kadyev, Marcus, Razveyev, Regelson, Perelson, Repin, Romanyuk and others) made appearances on television and in newspapers with public appeals exposing the special services of the West and former accomplices.>
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #24 posted by firedog on October 19, 2001 at 00:07:04 PT
some needed venting
This is pretty pathetic propaganda, when it comes down to it. My dog writes better than this."I've heard" this and "I've been told" that... too lazy to cite sources, I guess? Or verify information? Let's see... it's Sunday night, and you have to get that article in before deadline, and the article is due in an hour... I know how it works. I've been there.Spend ten minutes researching the topic next time.Marijuana users supporting the Taliban? That's a cheap shot if I ever heard one. Just had to throw that one in, didn't you? Who's next on the list of Taliban assistants, the U.S. Government? Oh... wait a minute... never mind...I know, I'm preaching to the choir here... but it feels good... and it isn't just empty talk, it strengthens our resolve in times of trouble. And these times definitely qualify.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #23 posted by lag on October 18, 2001 at 23:53:17 PT
Puff
Puff the Magic Dragon wasn't in my house much growing up. I had a little 45 or something with it, but I rarely listened to it. It brought on a sense of melancholy that I couldn't explain...so it always seemed to get passed by when listening to music in my early age. Finally I have gotten introspective enough to deal with it.It's deep stuff that would require at least an ounce of introspection to be able come to terms with.And those that would use it in this context are too busy pushing _others_ around and telling them what to do to be introspective. Introspection is essential to society and personal growth. It's lack of it that has gotten America in the position that it's in.bah...I'm too tired...come on Puff, let's see what's been going on for the past few years.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #22 posted by firedog on October 18, 2001 at 23:46:30 PT
my response
Dear Editor:I would like to comment on an article published recently in your paper entitled "There's No Hope with Dope".The article begins:Reality is harsh and often cold. We examine its rough texture a little closer in college, peering into the empty hallways. And sometimes it's arduous and pulls at your mind with tiny claws. You begin to understand how a fish feels out of water, with its head chopped off. I don't know how a fish would feel out of water, with its head chopped off, and I doubt that the writer does, either. Maybe it would be like how a human would feel underwater with his head chopped off, which is still quite a stretch for me to imagine. I'm still not sure what that has to do with college; I certainly didn't feel that way when I was in school, as far as I know. And what does the rough texture of reality have to do with empty hallways?I have a hard time deciphering the puzzle put forth in the first paragraph, and the rest of the article makes just about as much sense. For those interested in a less new-age, more rational perspectives on the subject, I would recommend visiting the website www.cannabisnews.com, which carries news stories about marijuana from all over the world, and all different perspectives.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #21 posted by freedom fighter on October 18, 2001 at 23:46:06 PT
Prohibition does not only do harm
but is a form of genocide.I shall defend her right to write this kind of trash with an understanding that she and her publisher are war criminals who promote genocide. Prohibition does not just cause harm, it caused untold numbers of DEATH.
While she is on the Lucy in the Sky with the Diamond, So comfortably numbed, thinking she did not puff the magic dragon, promoted DEATH.ff
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on October 18, 2001 at 23:30:51 PT
It's based on things I've translated
Marksa Engelsina's speech is a composite of the kinds of stuff that appeared in Party denunciations that I have read.If you go to the archives of the Soviet Central Committee - they used to be fairly open to researchers during Yeltsin's time, any letter from any relevant department chairman from a major university would do -- you can read hundreds and hundreds of denunciations like this against people and ideas. They all have this fevered language and most of them are written in really abysmal awkward illiterate Russian. I can see why intellectuals came to loathe this government just from their abuse of the language alone. The denunciation was a regular ritual of Communist life. A good deunciation of an anti-Soviet co-worker at a workplace Party meeting could work wonders for a career.For example, in physics, Soviet physicists were generally not allowed to travel to Western countries for conferences. But once a year the Party officer (every workplace had at least one) and KGB came to interview people on how they felt on important topics like Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov and Pasternak and Nagy and Dubcek.So one way to get permission to travel abroad would be to make up some heated denunciation of Sakharov as a traitor to his fatherland who was once a great hero of Socialism but fell under the parasitic influence of agents of cosmopolitanism and Zionism (i.e. his Jewish wife Elena Bonner) and has been misled by the foreign adversary and now grovels in the slime with our worst enemies and gives perverted inspiration to the most harmful elements of our society in their shallow morbid pursuits to hold back the progress of the Revolution.I have a few real ones that I translated. That's basically how they all go. There's almost a standard form. Someone should write a book on the art of the Communist denunciation.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #19 posted by lag on October 18, 2001 at 23:08:38 PT
Corey Haim tweaked out
"...Vulnerable and entrapped, the psyche is calling from within, saying, "Let me escape." But how can we? How can we escape? Is there really a way to forget about life's endless problems?" "...but when you're on drugs, the drugs are telling your brain what to do or what not to do."I would like to see this in an article written about every other legal brain scrambling drug out there. Prozac, and Paxil, Ritalin and all the other trendy attitude and thought suppressants out there. But those aren't really 'drugs' now are they? So I guess we will never see that article. I would like to know what this person was on when writing this article. It seemed too zombified, and overtly perky. I am going to go with the classic, Prozac...'but the tragedy has just made me too sad...I need something...' I just don't think the argument of escaping reality with 'illegal' drugs has merit anymore. We have too many 'legitimate' drugs that do that these days to keep that argument alive. Funny, though, I hadn't actually heard this argument much since I got to enjoy DARE 15 years ago.The hypocrisy (being a hypocrite myself, although not necessarily on purpose, I see it quite acutely) sickens me...
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #18 posted by dddd on October 18, 2001 at 23:01:40 PT
EJ..re:comment #4
Was that 60s Khrushchev thing something you wrote,or was it from an actual piece of literature from the era?....dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #17 posted by E_Johnson on October 18, 2001 at 22:33:39 PT
And she's a heartless cretin on top of it.
So where is the drugged debauchery in these lyrics?
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giants's rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar. His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave
So, Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave, oh
It's a sad song. It's very Jungian. It's like a personification of the internal state you leave behind when you leave childhood. Puff is the part of Jackie that he must abandon to adjust to the harsh adult world. It's picturing growing up as a death of sorts. It's a very deep song. Dragons connect to ancient archetypes, it's all Jung and Joseph Campbell and hunter gatherers around the fire. And then we have legends of heroes killing dragons. But in the song the dragon is loved and his passing is mourned. It's just a deep song, it has a lot of meaning once you go looking into the meaning of dragons throughout human history.It could be about modern society, the parts of ourselves that we humans have abandoned as we discovered steel and concrete and modern techniques of human resources management. And she's showing what a bloody heartless little Marksa Engelsina she is when she abuses this song.We should ALL have time for Puff the Magic Dragon, we all bloody well should have time for him.And it's because we don't have time for him that the modern world has such potential for isolation and alienation, and is becoming increasingly more difficult to manage and maintain.Go back to the cave, Jackie, and save Puff!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #16 posted by lookinside on October 18, 2001 at 22:08:02 PT:
LOL!
the first thought i had after reading this:it reminds me of a 6th grade teacher's pet after a DARE presentation, writing on the subject "why pot is bad"...the girl needs to see a rhinologist to have the DEA's dingleberries removed from her sinuses...
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #15 posted by null on October 18, 2001 at 21:25:00 PT
Lots of feedback - All Negative!
There have been a number of replies to this article on The Oregon Emerald webpage - ALL of them rebuking the article! At this point, NOT ONE PERSON has written anything supportive of her article. :)Every article by the Prohibitionists should be greeted with a similar storm of well written and fact filled responses.The WAR will be won. It will be won by US. It will be won ONE person at a time with REASON and FACT. The change will spread GEOMETRICALLY.
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2001/10/15/3bcb016a43338?in_arch
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #14 posted by Rev0x on October 18, 2001 at 20:44:29 PT:
What's my take?
The terrorists were drinking vodka.'nuff said. :p :p
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #13 posted by aocp on October 18, 2001 at 17:48:24 PT
Ridiculous...
My personal experience with people who use marijuana heavily has been this: They seem to have little motivation or desire to do much of anything. The drug is everything. As a result, their education begins to suffer, and they're usually out of shape. It also gives people the "munchies," which I've been told makes you usually crave unhealthy or greasy food. So, it's quite likely you'll gain weight. Sans references of any kind, these are prosecutable offenses? Boy, when you lay it out like that, i can see why we'd want to be looking for these people instead of terrorists.aocp out
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #12 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on October 18, 2001 at 16:43:41 PT
Re: Takin it to the source
Oh, I did.This just burnt my arse, really.It flusters me greatly that she gets to be in print when her content is so outrageously poor! I felt it was my duty to convey my resentment on their site as well. THIS is prohibitionist "journalism" in the bright light of day.There is an e-mail addy there directly to her: I'd pay money to find out how much outraged e-mail she got.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #11 posted by Cannabis Dave on October 18, 2001 at 16:07:54 PT
I just LOVE some of these replies - LOL!!!
She is surely going to be swamped by replies methinks. Surely she will rue the day she dared to write that smary tripe which was ejaculated out of her brain-washed mind. The false anti-pot phrases repeated yet again for us to hate. It's my guess that she isn't very old yet, or at any rate she never grew-up and tried to have a mind of her own yet. She is the result of "corporate America" parenting at it's worst, and unfortunately there are far too many like her. They say that statistically the DARE program doesn't work, but people like her must give them hope!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #10 posted by null on October 18, 2001 at 15:37:22 PT
Let's take rebuttles to the source
You may view the article directly from the Oregon Daily Emerald via the link at the bottom of my post. By doing so you will have the opportunity to post an editorial response on their website or directly email Tara Debenham. The editorial responses do not automatically appear however. The must be approved by the moderator first.It will aid our cause greatly if we publicly rebuttle such articles in the forums from which they originate.
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2001/10/15/3bcb016a43338?in_arch
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #9 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on October 18, 2001 at 15:04:13 PT
Was there a Stupidity Contest?
This article, or the person who wrote it, must have won! God Almaighty DAMN! I tremble with disgust.Was this Ann Landers? A statement from the NAZI's that used to be "Straight, Inc"? (Betty Sembler, perhaps?) Was this Barry McCaffery in women's clothes??This is PURE SWILL. I love reading crapola like this. Its like brie- stinky yet somehow flavorful. Its also very very cheesey. Pehaps it was written by a high school girl trying to win some Federal Anti-druuug grant money.The thing I love about tiny mentalities like this one is that YOU KNOW, beyond a shadow of doubt, this person has NEVER smoked any weed!. They havent the first clue about what it is, what it does or why somebody like ME would enjoy smoking it. She is so out of touch she could nail down a high-paying position with the ONDCP. All she'd have to do is xerox this tripe and change the title every 6 months.No facts. No stats. Just pure emotionalized "argument"...but theres really no argument either. Just moralizing. And that is the culture war exposed. The writer voted gleefully for the Shrub and is just giddy to hand over her Constitutional rights for some saftey from them mean ol terrorists.If she ever had an original thought, she might think about where marijuana comes from. She seems aware that some of it comes from right therer in Oregon. Is she suggesting Al Queda has a cell there growing high-quality weed for the enjoyment of us PROFESSIONAL stoners and is sending MILLIONS back to the Evil One? can you actually, honestly believe such a thing?Well, missy, 50 % or so of America's Weed is American Grown! probaly 40% or more comes from Mexico...and is usally very icky and undesirable. All those bricks of weed they catch and parade on TV? Nobody should ever have to smoke that! That should be woven into backpacks and floormats. With the militarization of the borders, weed should get more expensive for a bit then return to about how overpriced it is now. A new inter-US delivery network will grow out of the border problems, eliminating a sizable percentage of that nasty schwag, and supporting a new boom in indoor operations. The sooner the better, I sayI really like the title too: "No hope with Dope" . Thats like one of those stupid phrases you see on flashing signs in front of little churches across america. Its a great example of what I call "bumpersticker thinking" the attempt to express ones ideas on markedly complex social issues on a bumpersticker. I submit it as evidentary of the dumbing down of america discourse.This is repulsively stupid. God I hope she recieves feedback!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on October 18, 2001 at 14:33:47 PT
Another attempt at reasoning with the unreasonable
Dear editors,I would like to call to your attention a factual error in the column by Tara Debenham. She wrote, "Also, I've heard the drug hinders short term memory and makes coordination difficult, increasing car accidents." The effect of marijuana intoxication on the rate of auto accidents has been under study by professional highway safety statisticians all over the world for the last 15 years. At least five studies have been published in four different countries that have reached the same conclusion: the adjusted statistical risk index for drivers intoxicated on marijuana is roughly the same, to within statistical error, as that for drivers who are completely sober. In other words, marijuana intoxication while driving does not present an increased risk of accidents on the road.How could this be true? A controlled study done in America a couple of years ago showed that while marijuana intoxication does cause a small but measurable impairment in reflexes and tracking, it also causes the marijuana user to perceive the impairment and compensate by driving more conservatively. Drivers on marijuana were shown to be far less likely than sober drivers to engage in aggressive and risky driving behaviors such as passing other cars, excessive lane changing and tailgating.The two effects appear to cancel each other out, leaving the average driver stoned on pot as statistically safe on the road as the average driver not stoned on anything.So this explains why professional auto safety statisticians in four countries have found that marijuana intoxication does not show up as an identifiable highway safety risk in their statistics.I think you need to correct this error, because highway safety is an extremely crucial issue, it involves life and death. We need to pay attention to the facts, even when they seem counterintuitive and go against our social and political instincts.If Tara Debenham is an honorable person, she will look up these studies herself and admit that she was in error to mislead readers about such an important life and death topic.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #7 posted by Morgan on October 18, 2001 at 13:41:48 PT
LOL!
"There's No Hope with Dope."Well, if it rhymes it must be true. LOL! Poor Tara, having unknowingly been fed propaganda since day 1, she regurgitates it on cue to the applause of her masters, never thinking to question her 'truths'.I think Lenin called these people 'useful idiots'.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #6 posted by Lehder on October 18, 2001 at 13:30:18 PT
a harsh, cold truth about marijuana propaganda
It's quite a temptation -- finally you can block out everything that is crowding your mind and be, in Pink Floyd's words, "Comfortably Numb." But if the experience turns out to be good, then you'll probably want to feel that way again, and then what is to prevent you from doing it again? That's alcohol. It's the state the government wants you in: stupid. Marijuana is no escape. Marijuana does not make a person drunk, dumb or numb. Marijuana enhances perception and thought. Ask any high-tech millionaire in Silicon Valley. If I wanted to crash an airplane into a skyscraper, I'd want booze and religion, not marijuana. With weed I'd stay on the ground and read a book, maybe invent the personal computer or a genetic sequence. With weed I would certainly not beat my woman, wreck my car, lose my temper, miss work, puke or fight the police. That's booze. And this article is nothing but lies.Reality is harsh and often cold.I'm sorry you feel that way, Tara.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by MikeEEEEE on October 18, 2001 at 13:17:43 PT
Dopey talk from a dope
Personally, I've got better things to do than "Puff the Magic Dragon."Ha! What a dumb-ass.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on October 18, 2001 at 13:14:42 PT
Marksa Engelsina has spoken
This reminds me of how Komsomol members who wanted to get into the Communist Party would display their loyalty by denouncing the youth culture and dissident movement in harsh and uncompromising terms as a threat to everything decent in the world.Here's how the Communist 1960s Khrushchev era version would go:Many youths are now flocking to the insane leadership of a group of misguided products of Soviet education who are shouting vulgar poety in city squares, playing guitar, wearing strange clothing with unkempt hair and in general leading highly disorganized and unmotivated lives that give off the scent of being deeply anti-Soviet in nature.I myself as a dedicated member of the Komsomol have no time to waste reading the scribbled scratchings of depraved minds who call themselves poets but are really the vanguard of Frondeurist socially harmful elements such as parasites and hooligans who are the adversaries of our way of life. Those who would seek to distract us from our highly moral socialist purpose in life are advocates of a personal way of life in the arts and in literature in direct contradiction with the blessings bestowed upon us by the scientific socialist principles of Marx and Lenin.It's unimaginable from a socialist perspective that anyone would want to lead such a depraved and disorganized life as that which comes from works of art and literature that cause abnormal emotional reactions and confusion of socialist motivation in those who read or view them.In my experience these people have no desire for anything but further displays of anti-Soviet thinking, and we must strive to be increasingly vigilant against their expression in our society.
People used to name their kids after Marx and Engels in displays of groveling to the Stalinist regime. People grovel. Every authoritarian regime has someone's nose stuffed up its butt.This woman does not care whether anything she writes is true. She's written things that have been proven NOT to be true. It has been PROVEN in multiple studies that marijuana intoxication is not a risk factor in auto accidents. I think there have been five studies now where the same result has been reproduced: marijuana intoxication has about the same statistical risk factor on the highway as sobriety does, within staistical error.But she belongs to the DEA school of statistical analysis, where liars do figure.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by TroutMask on October 18, 2001 at 12:59:34 PT
I've heard...
>I've heard the drug hinders short term memory and makes coordination difficult, increasing car accidents.I've heard certain personal activities cause hair to grow on your palms.>Instead of spending 50 bucks to get high and just sit around and stare at things, go to a concert or on a road trip.Strange, I didn't know I was supposed to sit around and stare at things. I've been WAY too active...maybe I'll sit around and stare at things at a concert for a change. And exactly what concerts is this person attending where the majority of the crowd isn't smoking mj?>Try something new.Yeah, like factual reporting. What a simple-minded cretin.-TM
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by null on October 18, 2001 at 12:31:14 PT
marijuana tied to the taliban?!
"Marijuana and drug trafficking are tied to organizations such as the Taliban, so drug-users are indirectly supporting these organizations"Over half the marijuana in the U.S. is grown domestically. 40% comes from Mexico and Canda. The assertation that marijuana is supporting the Taliban is ludicrous and jsut plain WRONG.As always, the Prohibitionists spout rhetoric which lacks factual basis.-nullFor a great resource of FACTS check out:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 18, 2001 at 12:09:15 PT
Had to answer these questions
And if you're always high, where are you really? Answer: Living in the Ozone. That's what you think.Who are you? Answer: I'm me. Who are you?
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment