cannabisnews.com: Sparsely, Sage and Timely





Sparsely, Sage and Timely
Posted by CN Staff on August 17, 2002 at 08:08:19 PT
By David V. Mitchell 
Source: Point Reyes Light 
Thirty-three years ago this Thursday, Aug. 15, the Woodstock Music and Art Festival began on Max Yasgur’s Farm in Sullivan County, New York, and forever changed popular American culture.It was the first time that hippies’ acid and folk rock was fully recognized as important, politically potent music. It was the first time the counter-culture showed it might actually be large enough to stop a war. And it was the first time that tens of thousands of people smoked marijuana openly and, by implication, became activists in the fight for its decriminalization.
The 1969 festival drew more than 450,000 people, created one of the worst traffic jams in US history, ruffled the feathers of virtually every local official in Sullivan County, and is remembered by many who were there as a high point of their life, so to speak.As I recall, folksinger Arlo Guthrie was interviewed by talk-show host Dick Cavett a few days after the festival. While acknowledging the good times enjoyed by many, 33-year-old Cavett asked Guthrie about reports of "bad LSD and marijuana" circulating at the festival. Looking incredulous, Guthrie replied, "I’ve never heard of ‘bad marijuana.’"The folksinger then flustered Cavett by asking if the talk-show host had ever smoked pot. Cavett had to know that much of his audience smoked pot, and he didn’t want to look like a wuss to these viewers. At the same time, he no doubt could imagine all the FCC problems he’d have if he admitted using any illicit drug, no matter how mild.Finally, Cavett answered with the line that President Clinton later made famous, "Yes, but I didn’t inhale." Cavett got away with it. Clinton didn’t although the president later said that he had tried to inhale but choked because he wasn’t a cigarette smoker. Al Gore was more candid. Not only had the vice president smoked marijuana, he admitted, he had inhaled.As for George W. Bush, asked during the campaign about reports he used to smoke pot, regularly get drunk, and occasionally snorted lines of coke, he would say only that those days are over. That was it, and no one seemed to care.The one thing these two presidents, a should-be president, a legendary folksinger, and a celebrity interviewer have in common is that they smoked pot for recreation, and – far more significantly – took part in illegal transactions to get it. Remember that under federal law, merely giving marijuana to another person can be a crime.Such legal problems notwithstanding, many Americans realize marijuana can be of value in various ways. The late astronomer Carl Sagan "smoked marijuana regularly, convinced it enhanced his scientific insight," noted The Washington Post three years ago in a review of the book Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos.More importantly, marijuana has been shown to fight glaucoma, calm upset people, block pain in many parts of the body, and relieve the nausea and lack of appetite that AIDS patients typically suffer. In light of this, California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.Nor is California alone. Quickly following this state’s lead were Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington State, and Washington DC. The US Justice Department was outraged, at one point trying to suppress the results of the vote in the District of Columbia and later threatening to suspend the license of any doctor who prescribed medical marijuana.But, of course, none of this worked. There was no legal way to suppress election results, and the California Supreme Court subsequently ruled that doctors have the right to prescribe pot. The only problem has been: where can patients legally get their dope?District Attorney Paula Kamena has wisely worked with Sheriff Bob Doyle and Marin’s police chiefs to create a policy that allows patients to grow and possess as much marijuana as they need. The problem is theft from their pot patches. Given the value of marijuana and the difficulty of growing much of it without attracting public attention, pot-patch thieves have been common in Marin for at least 25 years. Now that numerous patients and their caregivers can grow pot legally, the opportunity for ripping off patches has only increased.Allstate, California State Automobile Association, Travelers Indemnity Company, and OneBeacon insurance companies have all paid claims filed by patients whose medical marijuana was stolen. And those are the happy endings. Slightly over 20 years ago, a pot-patch thief was shot to death by a grower after the grower was tear-gassed in the face and assaulted. The grower was acquitted in Marin Superior Court on grounds of self-defense.Incidents such as these are a major reason why the Cannabis Buyers’ Club, which the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana runs in Fairfax, is of such value. Patients don’t need to worry about thieves, and they don’t have to do business with illicit dealers.Ironically, this Thursday night on the 33rd anniversary of Woodstock’s opening, the Fairfax Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a recommendation from city staff that would tighten restrictions on the club at 6 School Street Plaza.As a staff report notes, "The use permit process relative to the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana has been quite long and complicated." As far back as 1993, the town council went on record as favoring the legalization of medical marijuana. In 1997, the town issued the cannabis club a use permit and renewed it four years later. But given what the club pays its staff, the typical member is a hip idealist rather than a Harvard MBA, and the club’s most recent problem was the late submittal of an audit to city staff.Complicating the situation further is a federal district court’s order that the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative close. That order was reversed by a federal court of appeals only to be reversed again by the US Supreme Court. The Fairfax Club, however, is not part of those proceedings, and it seems to have the State Supreme Court on its side. As always, there is no certainty how the courts will ultimately rule, but it would be tragic if Fairfax closed its Cannabis Buyers’ Club unnecessarily.The Light realizes there are a couple of idiosyncratic individuals on the club’s staff, and we have not always agreed with them on all issues. But we value the work they are doing, and we urge the Planning Commission to let them continue.Note: Buying pot legally 33 years after Woodstock.Source: Point Reyes Light (CA)Author: David V. Mitchell Published: August 15, 2002Copyright: 2002 Tomales Bay Publishing CompanyContact: editor ptreyeslight.comWebsite: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Arlo Guthriehttp://www.arlo.net/OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/Wood Stock Festival 69http://www.woodstock69.com/Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana http://www.cbcmarin.com/Hey Man! Groove on This http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13718.shtmlMedical Pot War Rages On http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13278.shtmlFlower Staying-Powerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12956.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Dan B on August 17, 2002 at 12:56:36 PT:
Careful!
There was no legal way to suppress election results, and the California Supreme Court subsequently ruled that doctors have the right to prescribe pot. Not exactly. The California Supreme Court ruled that doctors have a right to discuss and recommend cannabis with their patients, but they still cannot "prescribe" it. Prescription of drugs is outside the jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court because the right to prescribe medicine is a federal matter controlled by a federal agency (the DEA). Most doctors are likely aware of this distinction, but I thought I'd post a correction just in case.Dan B
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Comment #5 posted by SWAMPIE on August 17, 2002 at 09:41:35 PT
...Mr.Customs Man....Mon....
 Zero G,that song sure brings back alot of memories.I think that Steve and Michelle Kubby should use it on POT-TV.NET as one of their opening songs.My first "real song"I learned was "Little Black Egg".Don't remember the words,but still know the melody,LOL!!Back to the subject,the "KEYS" need to be LEGAL,and that is the END OF THE STORY!Just"IMAGINE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ONWARD THROUGH THE FOG! SWAMPIE
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Comment #4 posted by Zero_G on August 17, 2002 at 09:13:14 PT
Fergot to turn of italics
Sorry
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Comment #3 posted by Zero_G on August 17, 2002 at 09:12:08 PT
And this is a Marin Co. paper?
Not only the Monterey '67, how about the Human Be-In in Golden Gate park, also '67.Comin' into Los Angeles - Arlo GuthrieComin' in from London from over the poleFlyin' in a big jet linerChicken flyin' everywhere all round the planeNo, I couldn't feel much finerComin' into Los AngelesBringin' in a couple of keysDon't touch my bags if you please, Mr. Customs man, annnnn.There's a guy with a ticket to MexicoNo he couldn't look much strangerWalkin' in the hall with his things and allSmilin', said he was the Lone RangerComin' into Los AngelesBringin' in a couple of keysDon't touch my bags if you please, Mr. Customs man, annnnn.Hip woman walkin' on the movin' floorTrippin' on the escalatorThere's a man in the lineAnd she's blowin' his mindThinkin' that he's already made herComin' into Los AngelesBringin' in a couple of keysDon't touch my bags if you please, Mr. Customs man, annnnn.Had the distintion of being the first song I learned on guitar...so many years ago.I also recited the whole of Alice's Restaurant to the shrink my parents sent me to...apparently when I got to the part "I wanna kill", "I wanna eat dead burnt bodies, kill, Kill, KILL" there was quite a commotion in the office with people wondering if they should check on the safety of their co-worker...True story. JR - I'm with you, legalize - The CSA of 1970 in Unconstitutional, and just wrong besides.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 17, 2002 at 08:37:46 PT
JR You're Right
I didn't know that Monterey Pop was in 67.http://members.tripod.com/Yelnats_Yarkled/Monterey/
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 17, 2002 at 08:31:22 PT
Don't look in my bag, if you please...
>>And it was the first time that tens of thousands of people smoked marijuana openly and, by implication, became activists in the fight for its decriminalization.  Was it really the first time tens of thousands of people gathered and cannabis was openly smoked by most of them? Just because it was the first time it was made into a feature film (which won best documentary!)... I don't know how big the crowds at Monterey were, but I'm sure there were plenty of big music festivals with lots of fragrant aromas wafting around.  But what I'm really irked about is the end of the quote. How dare you say we're advocates for decriminalization?? Legalization - freedom from oppression - these are things I'm willing to fight for. Decriminalization is a bugaboo word, used by the antis to mean "we're going to change how we screw you, but we're still going to screw you." Decriminalization still means buying bags on the black market, and possibly funding terrorists and/or CIA black ops. LEGALIZE, so we can all grow big fields of it without the government being able to do a THING, and we'll be FREE. Decriminalization is not the answer!
Marc Emery for mayor of Vancouver!
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