cannabisnews.com: Hey Dude, Let's Vote Hey Dude, Let's Vote Posted by CN Staff on October 23, 2002 at 14:07:18 PT By Mike Cutillo, Times News Editor Source: Finger Lakes Times My first reaction when I heard of something called the Marijuana Reform Party was, You've got to be kidding me. My second reaction was, Hey, that's one of the great things about living in America, a right to political freedom and expression guaranteed by our Constitution, one of those rights that men and women have died protecting for us over the last 200 years. And my third reaction was, Now that's a political party that could really turn into a "political party." Nudge, nudge.I would really like to take the party as seriously as any other political party, but I just have a hard time taking seriously any thing or group that would be championed by, oh, I don't know, Cheech and Chong.I also figured the party would make a strong push for the legalized use of marijuana for medical purposes, and so I was prepared to think about that issue and to maybe consider the party a bit more seriously. Indeed, the argument is made that people who need marijuana for medical reasons should be able to use it, but I'm just hoping that one of those "medical reasons" isn't: Whoa, man, I just need to zone out for awhile.I also was a little shocked - is it possible to be a little shocked or is that like being a little stoned? - when I looked on their Web site, yup they have one, right there at marijuanareform.org, and saw this was the first bulleted item under "The Marijuana Reform Party believes that:"* Adults who choose to use marijuana in the privacy of their own homes should not be subject to civil or criminal sanctions.I half expected the next item to read:* And yo, dude, pass the chips, I've got the munchies.There are, in fact, 12 bulleted items listing exactly what the party believes in, and only one mentions medical reasons. One.But hey, you can order a T-shirt, complete, I assume, with the party's logo - an outline of New York state with a marijuana leaf about where Utica would be.The site also offers up this bit of advice when it's time to hit the voting booth: "Look for the Leaf and Pull the Lever."I don't know if that's up there with the great political slogans like "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," "I Like Ike" and "I did not have sexual relations with that girl," but I guess it'll do in a pinch.The thing about having a party that is backed by a belief in pot smoking, though, is that there is a built-in excuse if some of the party's platform or policies seem a little, oh, off the wall. I mean, how many times have you heard or said this about a politician: What, was he high when he came up with that idea?With these guys, the answer could be, "Yeah, dude, he was."Plus with a party like that out there, it gives hope to others who might want to form their own. I'm at the grassroots level of developing the Vino For Life party. Our slogan: "A glass of red wine is good for the heart; now get out and vote, do your part."Oh, back to the Marijuana Reformers, they have candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. And from what I understand, they're more than just tokin' candidates (sorry); Reformers can actually vote for them on Nov. 5.If they can just remember who they are when they get in the booth.Mike Cutillo's column appears every other Wednesday. Source: Finger Lakes Times (NY)Author: Mike Cutillo, Times News EditorPublished: October 23, 2002 Copyright: Finger Lakes Times 2002Contact: fltimes fltimes.comWebsite: http://www.fingerlakestimes.com Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Reform Party of N.Y.http://www.marijuanareform.org/Election '02: Party Seeks Pot Reformhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14486.shtmlCandidate Fires Up Campaign for Pot Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14243.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by kanabys on October 24, 2002 at 06:51:26 PT All of these points are very valid I think all of these points are logical and valid. What this moron doesn't know is that some of his co-workers, family, people he passes on the street, etc etc may be cannabis users and he has no idea because they don't fit "his" stereotype of a cannabis user. So, ha ha on him. The joke is on him and the like. That makes me feel better too! :-) [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by canaman on October 23, 2002 at 23:44:33 PT The party platform minus the insults The Marijuana Reform Party believes that: adults who choose to use marijuana in the privacy of their own homes should not be subject to civil or criminal sanctions. it is wrong for children to use marijuana and that such use is best stopped through honest drug education and by providing children with positive alternatives to drug use. the best way to protect the health and well-being of both our community and our children from marijuana-related harm is to control the growth, distribution and use of marijuana through a rational system of regulation and taxation. regardless of the legal status of the recreational use of marijuana, it is cruel for the government to deny medical marijuana to those patients who need it to treat a serious illness. drug addiction in general should be dealt with through treatment and prevention, rather than police and prisons. no parent should lose custody of their children for merely using marijuana unless such drug use was part of a larger documented pattern of neglect or abuse. all pre-employment drug testing for marijuana should be eliminated and that no person should be deprived of employment for off-the-job marijuana use. until prohibition is repealed the New York State law regarding smoking marijuana in public should be amended. Such activity should no longer be deemed to be a misdemeanor but, rather, a "violation," punishable by a summons (like drinking alcohol in public) and under no circumstances should anyone be arrested in New York for merely smoking marijuana. mandatory minimum sentencing for drugs should be abolished. there should be no forfeiture of homes, cars, assets, etc. for any marijuana offense. no one should be denied any government benefit, entitlement, aid or loan because of a conviction for any offense involving marijuana. securing these shifts in marijuana law and policy in our state will be brought about most quickly by the building of an organized constituency of pro-marijuana law reform voters. If we are ever to change these laws, we must build political power through the ballot box. http://www.marijuanareform.orgI believe some of the anti's lives depend on the idea of an underclass. Sort of a caste system, the untouchables, you know dirty stupid hippies. Government with the media did it to the Indians, Mexicans, Blacks, Jew's, every oppressed peoples throughout history. They really don't want dialog, they want to reinforce the lies. To bad the cats out of the bag now. What we are hearing is the nonsensical babbling of those crazy anti's in the attics. Ha Ha my attempt at an anti-joke. (is that an oxymoron?)LOL Maybe thats why prohibitionists aren't funny...they tell anti-jokes! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by afterburner on October 23, 2002 at 21:40:32 PT: This Guy is an Ego Destroyer. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.They don't love themselves, so they can't love anyone else.Lie in the pit with narcotic drugs, be screamed at and generally broken down. Turn into a quivering blob. Then be re-shaped for the conquest of the enemy into a rootless warrior with a heart of stone. (see Rites and Symbols of Initiation by Mircea Eliade). (1958b) Rites and Symbols of Initiation (Birth and Rebirth), trans. W. Trask, London: Harvill Press. (The publication of Eliade's 1956 Haskell Lectures at the University of Chicago, 'Patterns of Initiation'. His analysis of initiatory themes implies their ubiquity and structure as a symbolic death and rebirth.) Do you want a whimpering "broken" underdog or "give thanks and praise to the Lord, and I will feel alright. Lets get together and feel alright"?Mircea Eliade: From Primitives To Zen http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/ Mircea Eliade-biography etc. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by pokesmotter on October 23, 2002 at 19:14:01 PT: this is what i am talking about stoner stereotypes!!!!!!! this is terrible. after counting i see...7 times he users stoner cliches. it makes me sick. 7 times in this short article. blatently outrageous. this has to stop. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by mayan on October 23, 2002 at 18:26:34 PT Not Very Knowledgable... FoM, joking about a certain topic is sometimes the only way a person can address it. Mike Cutillo is obviously not very knowledgable about cannabis-law reform & feels uncomfortable dealing with it in a serious manner. Hey, at least he may have enlightened others of the Marijuana Reform Party! Any thinking person can see through the stereotypes.unrelated -Iraqi tie to September 11 hijacker debunked: http://wsws.org/articles/2002/oct2002/atta-o23.shtmlProtesters Promise Huge Anti-War Rally: http://www.theindychannel.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-173520320021022-221009.htmlMajor Events on Saturday, October 26th! Protest the Crimes of the Government,the 9/11 Cover-up and the Imperial invasion of Iraq. Marches in WASHINGTON, D.C. and SAN FRANCISCO: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/events.htmlAftermath:Unanswered Questions of 9/11 - Part 3(QuickTime video) http://www.gnn.tv/after_math/index.htmlPaul Thompson's Complete 9/11 Timeline: http://cooperativeresearch.org/completetimeline/The People's Investigation of 9/11: http://www.911pi.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on October 23, 2002 at 17:09:52 PT Denial to recognize failure Mike could stand in for Moe. Just another stooge unable to cope with reality.It's so funny, I forgot to laugh. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by canaman on October 23, 2002 at 15:50:07 PT Morgan is right This guy is a typical bigot. All the old stereotypical jokes. It's what many prohibitionists do, demonize, dehumanize, denigrate. They have low self-esteem, they blame the weak for the problems of the world because they are too weak to stand up to the real injustices. It's really sad. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by krutch on October 23, 2002 at 15:36:23 PT: He is poisoned by the propaganda Mike Cutillo is a bigot who thinks everybody who smokes pot is a clone of Beavis and Butthead. I resent his insults.I take this issue very seriously. Some of the most intelligent people I know get high, and many of them are scientists and computer programmers with phd's. I find it ironic that he refers to Cheech and Chong. If he new anything about them besides the characters they played in their movies he would no that they are both very smart people. I saw Cheech on celebrity Jeopardy a few years back and he won the match hands down. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 23, 2002 at 14:52:54 PT Question Why do some writers kid so much about marijuana? This is a serious issue. I can watch a Cheech and Chong movie and laugh or watch them smoking in the basement of the 70s Show and really laugh but when this issue is presented in a serious way like the Reform Party of New York has done why do writers not give the movement the respect it deserves? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Morgan on October 23, 2002 at 14:44:04 PT Lame Have you ever been to a party, or over at someone's house, and there's some old drunk guy there telling "nigger" jokes? He's cracking himself up, oblivious to the fact that nobody else is laughing. But hey, they go over so well at the local V.F.W..I think his name is Mike Cutillo. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment